Want the Black Master Chief skin in Fortnite? Epic shares bad news and offers refunds
Oops, too late!
If you’ve been hoping to pick up the Black Master Chief skin in Fortnite over the Christmas break, we’re sorry to say that you won’t be able to do that.
Players with long memories will remember that Master Chief, the main character of Microsoft’s Halo series, was previously added to the Fortnite Item Shop in March 2021.
Back then, if you wore the Master Chief skin in a match on Xbox Series X or S, you would’ve been rewarded with a Matte Black style for the outfit.
Jump forward to the present day and Master Chief has popped up in the Item Shop again, causing fans to wonder whether the Matte Black skin is still available if they play as Master Chief on Xbox Series X/S.
Having seen the scuttlebutt online about it, the Fortnite developers from Epic Games have posted on social media to clarify the situation.
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It’s not good news if you were hoping to get the Matte Black Master Chief skin this Christmas.
Epic said on X, formerly known as Twitter, "The Matte Black style for The Master Chief is no longer unlockable."
The official post added: "This style is limited to players who purchased the outfit and played on an Xbox Series X|S prior to December 2024."
The key word there is 'prior'! So if you’re only just buying the green version of the skin today, you’re too late to take part in the Matte Black promotion.
This contradicts the original announcement of the skin in 2021, when Epic said, "You’ll unlock the Matte Black style if you play a match on Xbox Series X|S at ANY point in the future. There is no time limit for unlocking the style."
Epic, having back-tracked on the promise to keeping giving out the Matte Black style at any point in the future, is now offering refunds to players that bought the skin today (24th December 2024).
Epic said, "Any purchases of the Master Chief made today can be returned without spending a Return Ticket if they prefer, by reaching out to Player Support". This is the link provided to do just that.
However, if you’re not fussed about the black version of the Master Chief skin, the green one is available in the Item Shop for 1,500 V-Bucks at present.
There’s also a Master Chief Bundle up for grabs — at 2,600 V-Bucks — which includes the green skin, the Gravity Hammer Pickaxe, the UNSC Pelican glider, the Battle Legend back bling, and the Lil’ Warthog Emote + Traversal.
So, it’s sad news if you really want that Matte Black Master Chief outfit. But if you just want to dress up as the iconic Halo character, there’s nothing stopping you from buying the green version.
We’ll keep bringing you the latest Fortnite intel as we hear it. The next big thing will be Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2, which is due to drop in February 2025. Watch this space!
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Rob Leane is the Gaming Editor at Radio Times, overseeing our coverage of the biggest games on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile and VR. Rob works across our website, social media accounts and video channels, as well as producing our weekly gaming newsletter. He has previously worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional and Dennis Publishing.
