Famed Fortnite leakers of the likes of Shiina and HypeX have been teasing it since August, but the game is officially adding companions. On November 1, your battle pass will contain Peels, a banana-like dog who will run alongside you, providing company in battle and reacting to their surroundings. Fortnite is calling these companions Sidekicks, and others aside from Peels will be in your shop as soon as November 7. We can't wait to see how they will change up the battlefield.
So far, what we know is that you can customize your little pal, both in looks and name, but you can only change its appearance once, in your Locker when you first buy it. If you're having regrets, there's a solution, but it's quite drastic. The Fortnite website suggests that you can switch it up, but you'll have to buy the companion again if you want to reset its appearance. The naming system is straightforward, presumably providing you don't violate ToS with the name you choose. For the safety of your young ones, Cabined Accounts will have a list of names to pick from.
As for Peels, it seems he might get the rot treatment that Peely the banana skin got, starting off as a fresh lad and then slowly decaying. Yikes. Cosmetics are a different matter, as there's a new system. Most of the companions will passively earn you Sidekick Points, meaning all you have to do is equip them, and you can use those points to unlock new cosmetics for your Sidekicks. Cute clothes, little bouncy balls - whatever pet-related items you can think of, we're sure they'll be in there.
We're happy to see a dynamic Fortnite companion system, after the previous attempts at pets were simply back bling. They'll be available in all developer-made games, providing the dev turns the little fellas on. In terms of the official Fortnite modes that our friends can join us in, they'll be available in Battle Royale, Save the World, Fortnite Festival, and Lego Fortnite for now. Whether Fortnite plans to expand that list, we don't yet know. A short trailer suggests your friend will react to your emotes alongside you, so Festival just became a party for two.
Some of the Sidekicks coming to the shop include dogs Bonesy and Spike, and dinosaur Lil' Raptor. You'll get Bonesy for free if you already have the Bonesy back bling, which is neat. Fortnite's website promises that there'll be skins available for us cat-lovers soon - I can imagine Garfield would go down very well. We can also see a goldfish in a bubble, so that's neat for the fish enjoyers out there. As for the rest of the Sidekicks? Well, I can't wait to see what Epic has cooking up. A little parrot perhaps? A gecko?
Whatever comes next for Fortnite's Sidekicks, you can be sure to hear about it here, and we also have all the latest Fortnite codes for freebies, plus see if you agree with our list of the best Fortnite skins.