Fortnite had a little bit of a fiasco this week, causing a stir with fans all over the globe (and it wasn't just about Fortnite's players getting swatted either). A promotional card, which was not supposed be to given out by retailers until much later ended up in the hands of some fans. This gave players early access to, surprisingly enough, nothing!
It was supposed to give players a free holiday-themed pickaxe in the game, but it was given out so early that it hadn't even been added to the game's code yet. This item, called the Fortnite Merry Minty Axe, has caused a little bit of a stir in the community, with players without cards clamoring for a code and those with codes asking where their items were.
Fortnitemares
Turns out that the newest update, the Fortnitemares patch 2.42 (11.10), brought the Minty Axe into the game. Fortnitemares, which is now currently live, is Fortnite's big annual Halloween celebration filled with unique challenges. With the code for the Minty Axe now live in the game, some very lucky players who just happened to wander into a GameStop on October 25th got their Minty Axe already. If someone wasn't lucky enough to get a code, they may be out of luck for a while.
How to Get the Minty Axe
Unfortunately for those players who missed out on the GameStop giveaway on the 25th, there's no getting the Minty Axe.
If players who didn't receive a code on the 25th still want a Minty pickaxe, the only way to get one is to wait. GameStops all over the country have been sent these Minty pickaxe codes, but players aren't supposed to get one without a Fortnite V-Buck card or other official merchandise purchase.
"Select retailers in the US, United Kingdom, France, and Germany will include a gift code for an in-game Merry Mint Pickaxe free with any purchase of an officially licensed Fortnite product while supplies last," says the Epic Games official Blog website. It is rumored to be a GameStop exclusive, at least at the beginning.
There has been another rumor going around that the codes were supposed to given out on November 6th, 2019, but no official word has dropped on this rumored date. There have been tons of forgers, pretending to have Fortnite merchandise and selling it online, prompting Epic to sue. So be wary of anyone selling Minty Axe codes online; they are most likely fake.
Epic Games blog states that players should, "Keep an eye on our social channels for more details!" Hopefully news on when and where to get more Fortnite Merry Minty Pickaxes shows up in social media feeds soon. Until then, players will have to make do with all the exciting new outfits and weapons in the Fortnitemares event that has already begun!