Is LEGO Fortnite free? How the new mode will make money explained

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Keep on reading and we'll fill you in quickly on all of the important details on LEGO Fortnite and how it is monetised.

Is LEGO Fortnite free?

Yes, LEGO Fortnite is absolutely free for anyone with an internet connection. You can download it and start playing for nothing! Just download Fortnite and you'll find the LEGO mode heavily promoted within.

You can then get picking your LEGO Fortnite seed, and before you know it you'll be diving into mines to find Knotroot to upgrade your Village.

You don't even need to fork out for an expensive PC or console, thanks to the fact that Fortnite Cloud Gaming on mobile is readily accessible on most handheld devices.

Of course, if you want to fork out on a fancy console, we've got you covered with the best PS5 deals and Nintendo Switch deals and a whole lot more besides over in our Technology section.

How will LEGO Fortnite make money?

A valid question. Whenever a game is 'free to play', it's only natural to ponder how exactly it's making any money. After all, Epic Games and LEGO are both companies and this is a capitalist society we live in – there's no such thing as a free lunch!

One way in which LEGO Fortnite will make money is through selling skins and other optional items in the Fortnite Item Shop.

There was one LEGO Fortnite skin you could get for free (by singing up for the LEGO Insiders club and linking it up to your Fortnite account), and lots of your pre-existing skins will have a free LEGO style to use in this new mode, but Epic and LEGO will be selling other skins and items in the shop.

We're writing this on the day that LEGO Fortnite comes out and we can already see a selection called 'LEGO Fortnite Favourites' in the in-game store, where there are numerous LEGO cosmetics for sale at a variety of different prices.

As with everything in Fortnite, you buy these with V-Bucks, which you can either earn slowly in game or buy quickly with real-life money.

The main Fortnite game also has a seasonal battle pass structure, where players can buy a new 'pass' every season to unlock a sequence of challenges that have associated rewards in-game.

For now, LEGO Fortnite seems quite unrelated to the battle pass, but we do know that more content will be coming to LEGO Fortnite later. When that happens, we wouldn't be surprised if some of it came with a price tag.

The official announcement said: "The LEGO Fortnite journey is just beginning, with new world building, gameplay features, and more LEGO Style Outfits arriving in updates starting early 2024."

The base experience of LEGO Fortnite is totally free for now, though, so jump in and have fun! And you don't have to buy any skins if you don't want to!

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