Epic Games ran into a snag last week as its servers suddenly went down, preventing all Fortnite players from logging in. Prior to that event, the game received a new patch featuring bug fixes and content like the highly requested replay system, all of which likely helped to bring most of the Fortnite servers and services to a screeching halt. Knowing how important the community has been in getting the game to where it is now, Epic is working to give back to the community with a free in-game item for Battle Royale players.

As a sort of thanks for being patient with the recent server troubles, Epic Games is currently offering a free back bling backpack to all Fortnite Battle Royale players for free. Known as the Rust Bucket, the back bling features a scavenger style look consisting of a lot of spare parts that were seemingly cobbled together. Simply go into the Battle Royale item shop, select the Rust Bucket, and with the V-Bucks price set to 0, players can purchase it to add the item to their locker.

fortnite rust bucket

Interested players should head over to the in-game store before the update this Wednesday, April 19, as the free items will no longer be available. Alongside this week's content update, Epic is also planning a detailed post that aims to give players a bit of insight into what actually caused this massive outage. In addition, the team plans to reveal how Epic will improve the services going forward, hopefully preventing outages like this going forward.

The free content doesn't stop there, however. Like as it did following the last server outage, Battle Royale players are also being gifted a pack of battle stars to players which help increase their battle pass rank and rewards. For players invested in the PvE side of the game known as Save The World, Epic is offering a couple of free rewards to make good on the downtime. First, a free Troll Stash Llama can be claimed from the in-game store, offering all sorts of items from survivors, to weapons, to other goodies. PvE players are also getting seasonal gold as well, though Epic hasn't said how much, so players will need to stay tuned until after the short maintenance period later this week.

Fortnite is available now on iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Reddit