Fortnite Developer Epic Games has released a new user survey asking players about their pet-like sidekicks, and specifically the need to repurchase each creature to get a different version after your base design choice becomes permanent.
Fortnite currently requires fans to lock in the color, shape, and body style of their Sidekick the first time they use it, and warns players that their decision cannot be changed again.
There's only one Sidekick animal available at the moment, the banana dog hybrid Pils, two of which you get in the current Fortnite “The Simpsons” Battle Pass. When you first equip your dog, you must choose one of three banana peel colors (yellow, yellow-green or mottled), ear shape (pointy, less pointed, flat) and body type (thin or thick).
After this, each Sidekick also gets its own mini-battle pass with cosmetic extras (Pils has an emote where he dances with maracas, as well as several shirt options he can wear that can be donned at will). But the creature's base design choices are really no longer changeable, and players who want to try other body options are looking for a separate incarnation of Jigsaw to change it from the ground up.
Later this week, on November 7th, a set of additional assistants will be available separately in the Fortnite in-game store. Future creatures will include other dog breeds, a dinosaur, and even a stick fish in a bubble. Each will cost 1,200 or 1,500 V-Bucks (around $10-$14) and each is expected to offer a variety of permanent cosmetic options, with fans having to buy multiple versions to own them all.
Amid the backlash over this decision, Epic Games sent out a fresh user survey to Fortnite players, including myself, specifically asking for feedback on Sidekicks' persistent customization mechanic, giving some fans a glimmer of hope that the whole thing will be overhauled.
“What do you think of Sidekicks cosmetics?” asks one question. “Did you know that Sidekicks have basic features that you can only customize once by stating what the Sidekick is (like its color and shape?” asks another. And then:
“How do you feel about having to purchase an additional copy of the same Sidekick if you want to customize your Sidekick with other basic features?” asks a third question with various answer options: from “extremely dislike” to “extremely like.”
Some fans have speculated that Epic Games originally intended that purchasing Sidekicks would be like adopting a creature from the pet store—with a specific design that you become attached to over time (and as you unlock their Battle Pass). Others also say that the prices here, while high, are little different from Fortnite's also widely disliked Kicks (digital shoes), which often cost over 1,000 V-Bucks for licensed models and regularly require players to buy multiple copies to access different colors. (There are about a dozen nearly identical digital pairs of Crocs in the game, each of which must be purchased separately.)
But others compare Sidekicks to the highly customizable nature of many character skins—and indeed, to the color options available for the simpler Fortnite pets that launched back in the game's early days, which can be customized at will.
It certainly feels like the broader reaction to the Sidekicks' design limitations has resonated. Far from being a fun new type of cosmetic (and one that could prove extremely lucrative once licensed sidekicks like Grogu and Stitch arrive) to generate positive sentiment, their soft launch via Peels has only sparked backlash, with various Reddit threads and social media posts now urging other players not to buy more when they go on sale later this week.
Will Epic Games change course? Time will tell, although responses to this survey (and sales from this week's store update) may play a role.
Tom Phillips is news editor at IGN. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
