Epic has started a very special giveaway event, running until February 27 and granting anyone who completes a number of Fortnite Battle Royale‘s challenges free access to the next Battle Pass. This giveaway seems to have been decided at the very last minute, and coincides with the skyrocketing popularity of its brand new competitor, Apex Legends, which just happened to exceed Fortnite’s popularity on Twitch.

The Fortnite Battle Pass Giveaway

Launched as an extra surprise on Valentine’s Day, the Season 8 Battle Pass giveaway event is destined for “Everyone who completes 13 free Overtime Challenges by February 27. With the Battle Pass, you’ll receive two Season 8 Outfits instantly and you can earn up to five more. Save your V-Bucks, this one’s on us!“, Epic announced.
Overtime Challenges are new, additional quests introduced with the Valentine event, that players can complete during a battle royale match. From collecting coins in a specific area to finishing in the top 15, Overtime Challenges are plenty (20) and a lot easier to come by (for noobs like me) than kill-based challenges.

Why “Thanks to Apex Legends”?

It is very likely that the Battle Pass giveaway was decided in reaction to the now skyrocketing popularity of late Apex Legends, another free-to-play shooter. While I don’t believe the two are perfect substitutes, Apex Legends has undoubtedly drawn a great deal of player activity out of Fortnite lately, inevitably putting Epic under fierce competitive pressure. Moreover, there are 2 clues that may point to Apex Legend as being the catalyst to Epic’s giveaway.

First, Epic‘s decision -to give an easy chance for players to score the next Battle Pass for free- seems to have been made at pretty much the last minute, and right when Apex Legends was about to surpass Fortnite in streaming popularity. When Epic announced and posted on February 7th details of the upcoming Valentine’s event, no mention was made of the Battle Pass Giveaway, and the rewards originally intended seemed sufficient to mark the occasion, effectively getting players to mass-share the news via #SharetheLove.

“The response we’ve seen to the #SharetheLove event has been amazing. And with the arrival of Valentine’s Day, we’re here to share one more surprise.“

The official reason given by Epic for coming up with a surprise gift seems to be the positive feedback they received from players regarding the Valentine’s event announcement, which doesn’t sound quite right: Have you ever come across a business that would decide to offer you a second gift upon hearing that you’d be happy with the first one?

Second, the giveaway isn’t (just) designed to please players, since it’s not literally free of charge: not only players have to play actively until February 27 to unlock the free Battle Pass, but they will have to play even more so in the coming months to actually enjoy the Pass, which merely consists of an exponentially tiered progression/reward system. As such, this gift is more likely to be a marketing operation designed solely to revive or retain player interest/commitment, in light of the risks posed by its brand new contender titled Apex Legends, which just happened to top Fortnite in a single-day Twitch viewing.

For more details relating to Epic’s ongoing event and Battle Pass giveaway, please visit their dedicated news section at: epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news