To understand the Naruto collaboration saga in Fortnite, players need to know how it all began. During the massive Apple vs. Epic Games lawsuit, internal files for lawyers were leaked to the public. It contained detailed information about original cosmetics, revenue, and upcoming collaborations.
The list of collaborations included some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, including Ariana Grande, J Balvin, and Will Smith, to name a few. Alongside these stars studied names, characters from video games such as Samus Aran popped up on the list.
However, what caught the Fortnite community's attention was that a Naruto skin was mentioned in the documents. Despite the anticipated rumors and leaks, the Naruto skin never came to fruition in Seasons 6 and 7. However, it all changed in Season 8.
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Fortnite's Naruto skin will likely be released during a special occasion event
As stated in the conversation between Candy Wing and Donald Mustard, the Naruto skin will be an item shop cosmetic rather than a Battle Pass exclusive. Given the skin's popularity, Epic Games is likely to keep the skin accessible to all and avoid backlash from the otakus that play Fortnite.
Nonetheless, with Fortnite Season 8 getting started, fans are beginning to ask questions about the Naruto collaboration's drop date. With no hidden information or encrypted files discovered yet on the timeline, the buzz surrounding the collaboration started fading away until a few hours ago.
According to HYPEX, Fortnite's most prominent leaker, Naruto's 22nd Anniversary is on September 21st. He posits that the Naruto skin could be added to the shop that day. This would make sense. Given the occasion, it would be the perfect opportunity to release the skin as the hype would be greater.
Furthermore, the recent addition of a shuriken banner and Crows in Fortnite Season 8 may not be a mere coincidence. The popularity of the Naruto skin is sky-high. It may be launched as a set and could cost somewhere between 1,800 and 2,500 V-Bucks.
If all goes according to prediction, Fortnite's lobby should be looking something like the picture above, with players doing the "Full Tilt" nonstop by next week. Hopefully, leakers will dig through the encrypted files and find something related to the Naruto collaboration over the weekend.