For the first time since 2021, Fortnite has skipped its annual Rainbow Royale Pride celebration, leaving fans puzzled and disappointed. The event, which had become a fixture each July and August, typically offered free cosmetics and colourful in game features celebrating LGBTQIA+ pride. As reported by Gamespot, this year nothing has appeared, and Epic Games has yet to explain why.
Introduced four years ago, Rainbow Royale wasn’t a massive tentpole on the Fortnite calendar, but it carried symbolic weight. Free rainbow themed items like the Big Fan and The Dip emotes were staples, while 2022 expanded the celebration with themed quests, a Pride battle bus, a hammer pickaxe, and a trans superhero, ‘Dreamer’ added to the shop. In recent years the event slimmed down, with 2024 only featuring a short lived shop section. This year though? Silence.
The absence feels even sharper given that the Mazy skin, usually a Pride season highlight, only popped up once, for a single day, without the full Pride collection. Players haven’t been able to claim any free Pride cosmetics in 2025, and no themed quests or rewards have been introduced as of October.
Epic Games has kept quiet despite multiple outlets, including Blunt, requesting comment. The lack of transparency has sparked speculation. Some point to wider U.S. political tensions, with the Trump administration’s rollbacks on diversity and inclusion initiatives raising questions about whether corporate hesitance is at play. Others believe Epic may simply be shifting priorities or scrapping smaller activations to focus on blockbuster collabs.
Whatever the reason, the silence leaves a sour note. Rainbow Royale wasn’t just about free skins, it was a visible show of support for queer players in one of the world’s biggest games. Without it, fans are left wondering, is this just a gap year, or has Epic quietly killed off Pride in Fortnite?
We’ll update this story if Epic responds to requests for comment.
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