Fortnite data miners found a John Wick character skin hidden in the game’s v9.01 update game files, which is nearly a confirmation that the special event Wick’s Bounty is coming this week to the game. The character skin is named John Wick after the franchise of the same name. It seems to have more than one stage due to the icon that appears on the top left of its skin image, and one of them should be a “damaged” variant that shows the character with several bruises. The set also comes with a Gold Token back bling. This isn’t the tier 100 Battle Pass skin The Reaper from season three, which will continue existing in players’ lockers. Even though The Reaper is a clear homage to John Wick, this should be a brand-new character skin with its own traits. John Wick should come with his own Limited Time Mode, Wick’s Bounty. Players should be able to unlock the back bling, an umbrella, and an exclusive wrap during this event by completing certain challenges that should be available to everyone. These cosmetic items have yet to be revealed. The series’ new movie, Chapter 3: Parabellum, will be released in the United States on May 17. That’s probably one of the reasons why Fortnite might have partnered with the franchise’s producers to develop a proper John Wick skin for the game. It's still unclear when John Wick and Wick's Bounty will be added to Fortnite: Battle Royale.<doc-sep>Considering John Wick is an assassin, he's not doing a very good job of keeping his upcoming arrival in Fortnite hidden. After an astute Reddit user noticed his house had appeared at Paradise Palms, leaker FortTory discovered a special Wick's Bounty LTM (complete with challenges) would be arriving in the game. Now, thanks to prolific Fortnite dataminer Lucas7yoshi, we now have our first look at the new John Wick skin, along with some details on how that LTM is going to work. Killing in gold blood. So far, it looks like players can expect to see a skin with two styles: the regular version and a damaged evolution, which is essentially John Wick before and after one of his movies. Lucas7yoshi also found images of a gold token back bling (which, in the world of John Wick, are used as currency in the underworld). Damage Variant pic.twitter.com/6uDlObxgib — Lucas7yoshi - Fortnite Leaks (@Lucas7yoshi) May 15, 2019 This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings Aside from being a flashy accessory, the golden token back bling seems to relate to the LTM, in which players will work in teams to "eliminate the other bounty hunters" and reach a required token count. According to the datamined text, players can only be eliminated three times before being "out for good". Players who collect high amounts of tokens will need to watch their backs, however, as token leaders will be marked on the map. Interestingly, Lucas7yoshi also found mention of the Continental in some of the files (the famous assassin hotel chain in John Wick). It's still unclear whether this means the actual hotel will appear in Fortnite's world - but it sure sounds promising. Wax_Hotel_Widget (Wax being the wicks bounty ltm) file contains: "Welcome to the Continental" "REMEMBER - no business while on the hotel grounds" before you ask i have literally know nothing about the john wick series — Lucas7yoshi - Fortnite Leaks (@Lucas7yoshi) May 15, 2019 This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings All this, of course, is to celebrate the new John Wick 3 film, which you can watch right now in the UK - so we should be seeing this LTM appear in-game pretty soon. It's worth mentioning the new John Wick skin is separate to Fortnite's original Reaper skin - the top unlock in the season three battle pass which was based on Wick and still heavily used today by veteran players - which explains why Epic and the entire Fortnite community is obsessed with the character. Wrap/Umbrella seem to be encrypted still pic.twitter.com/2BCsGSLCRc — Lucas7yoshi - Fortnite Leaks (@Lucas7yoshi) May 15, 2019 This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings In the world of official Fortnite patch notes, this week's update is introducing a tactical assault rifle: a fully automatic weapon which Epic explains "has a tight spread in close quarters but is less effective at long range when compared to other assault rifles". The recently-revived drum gun, meanwhile, is getting yet another nerf to reduce its effectiveness in battle. You can also say goodbye to the compact SMG, which has been binned "to reduce the availability of high rate-of-fire weapons". Something less glamorous but probably needed are the changes to slipstreams, which are now disabled after storm phase five (to prevent players being sucked out into the blue zone of death). They no longer block building, which means players won't have to keep making "leaps of faith" to reach the air tunnel. Finally, I can stop throwing myself off buildings like a lemming.<doc-sep>
It looks like gloomy assassin John Wick is returning to Fortnite. Various dataminers and leakers have shared details they've dug up about Keanu Reeves' perpetually damp character, including a Wick-inspired bounty mode and a broody skin. Maybe a trip to Fortnite's cheery, colourful island is just the rest the veteran gunman needs. According to Lucas7Yoshi, the John Wick skin will have a slicker regular version, before he's been shot by a hundred assassins, as well as another where Wick's looking a bit worse for wear. I hope that suit wasn't expensive. Individual Images: pic.twitter.com/CEt9gQOWyLMay 15, 2019 See more Damage Variant pic.twitter.com/6uDlObxgibMay 15, 2019 See more The Wick's Bounty LTM and associated challenges, first ferreted out last week, will task players with hunting down enemies for their precious golden coins. Complete the challenges, like collecting 120 coins and winning games of Wick's Bounty, will net you XP, back bling and a couple of mystery rewards. Wrap/Umbrella seem to be encrypted still pic.twitter.com/2BCsGSLCRcMay 15, 2019 See more John Wick's impending appearance has also been heralded by a change to the map, which now features a house that looks a lot like his pad from the films. A datamined line also mentions the Continental, the hotel for assassins, so that could potentially appear on the map, as well. It's not the first John Wick crossover in Fortnite, but it is a little bit odd. A vengeful assassin going on a murderous rampage doesn't seem like a great fit for the lighthearted battle royale, but I guess it's no more grim than chucking Thanos, a dude who wiped out half of the universe, into an LTM. With John Wick 3 releasing in the UK today, expect to see him making his Fortnite appearance soon. Cheers, Eurogamer.