Rare Fortnite Skins: What They Are, How Much They Cost, and Why You Need Them

Fortnite has thousands of cosmetic items, but only a few of them are considered truly rare. Some were given away for purchasing specific devices, others were available for just a few days, and still others disappeared from the store and didn’t return for years. That’s exactly why rare skins, emotes, and pickaxes have become true collector’s items that owners love to show off during matches.

In Fortnite, there is no official rarity metric for items based on their price or color. The term is typically used to describe cosmetic items that haven’t returned to the store for a long time, were available for a limited time, or were awarded only for participating in special events, tournaments, and partnership programs.

An item’s rarity is also influenced by the number of owners. For example, some skins from the early seasons were obtained by only a few thousand players, and exclusive skins for owners of certain smartphones or consoles can no longer be obtained. This is precisely why rare Fortnite skins, emotes, and pickaxes are considered a sort of symbol of an “old” account and are highly valued among collectors.

It’s difficult to pinpoint a single “rarest” skin in Fortnite, because some older skins have returned to the store over time. However, among players and collectors, the Assault Trooper or Outlaw Raider are most often cited as the rarest skins. Both skins appeared back in Fortnite’s first season and were available to a very limited number of players.

The list of the rarest Fortnite skins looks something like this:

Assault Trooper—one of the very first skins in the game’s history. Many players at the time chose to buy other items instead, so very few players ended up owning this skin.

Outlaw Raider—a true symbol of Fortnite’s early days. Despite its cult status, the skin has temporarily returned in recent years as part of the OG mode, so some players consider it slightly less rare than the Assault Trooper.

Galaxy is an exclusive skin that was given to buyers of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphones and Galaxy Tab S4 tablets. The promotion ended long ago, and the skin itself was never sold in the Item Shop.

Double Helix is an exclusive skin for a special Nintendo Switch bundle. It is currently impossible to obtain it through official channels.

Honor Guard — was given to buyers of the Honor View 20 smartphone. Due to the device’s limited distribution, this skin is extremely rare in matches.

Black Knight—the final reward of Fortnite’s first Battle Pass. The skin has never returned and is still considered one of the main symbols of an “old-school” account.

It is these skins that most often top the lists of the rarest skins in Fortnite and are considered true collector’s items among the game’s veterans.

Some rare Fortnite skins are prized not only for their age but also for the unusual story behind their disappearance.

Travis Scott is one of the rarest skins in the game. After the Astronomical concert, the rapper’s skin did not return to the store for a long time. Epic Games has never officially explained the reason, but players link the skin’s absence to the tragedy at the 2021 Astroworld festival and the end of the collaboration. Ten people died in a stampede at his concert that day.

Jinx and V from *Arcane*—the collaboration with Riot Games was hugely popular, but Riot representatives stated in 2025 that there are no plans to bring these skins back in the foreseeable future. The reason: the agreement between the companies had expired, and there were no new joint projects in the works.

Psycho—a character from the shooter Borderlands—was released as part of a limited collaboration with Gearbox and later disappeared from the store. Due to the expiration of the license and the lack of new joint initiatives, his return is considered unlikely.

Champion—Fortnite’s first official esports skin, released for the 2019 World Championship. The skin was tied to a specific tournament and has not reappeared in the store, so it has gradually become a rarity.

Indigo Kuno was an exclusive reward for the Galaxy Cup tournament. Only players who placed highly in the competition could obtain it. After the tournament ended, the official way to obtain it disappeared.

Reflex is perhaps the most controversial incident in Fortnite’s history. Initially, the skin was intended to be exclusive to buyers of NVIDIA graphics cards, but Epic Games accidentally released it in the item shop. Graphics card owners were outraged, as they had purchased the bundle specifically for its exclusivity. As a result, Epic had to apologize and issue a new version of the skin to buyers—Stealth Reflex—which has since remained truly exclusive.

Among Fortnite collectors, not only skins but also resource-gathering tools are considered rare. Some pickaxes were available for only a few weeks, while others were rewards from tournaments or older Battle Passes. Today, it’s extremely difficult to come across them in a match.

The rarest pickaxe in Fortnite. It is awarded only to the winner of the Fortnite Champion Series World Championship and remains with them until the next tournament. Since only one player or one team of champions can own it at a time, this item is considered a true legend.

A pickaxe from Fortnite’s first season that could only be purchased after reaching a certain level in the seasonal store. Due to the small number of players in the game’s early months, this item is extremely rare.

A reward for completing Fortnite’s first Battle Pass. The pickaxe never returned to the item shop, so today it can only be seen in the possession of the game’s veterans.

One of the rarest pickaxes in the Item Shop. It was released alongside Travis Scott and is considered his signature pickaxe. And since a return of the collaboration with Scott is unlikely, don’t expect this pickaxe to make a comeback either.

This pickaxe could be obtained via a promo code for purchasing official Fortnite merchandise from Epic Games’ partners. The promotion ended a long time ago, and unused codes have all but disappeared, so it’s becoming increasingly rare to encounter the Cheerful Mint in matches.

Officially, you can only buy rare items in Fortnite in one case—if Epic Games decides to bring them back to the item shop. However, for many older skins, emotes, and pickaxes, the likelihood of their return is almost nonexistent.

Because of this, there’s an online market for accounts containing rare items. However, buying and selling accounts violates Epic Games’ rules and can result in your account being banned. Furthermore, such transactions are often associated with scams and offer no guarantees that you’ll retain access to the account.

Sometimes players also try to find old, unactivated codes for exclusive items, but their numbers are dwindling every year, and prices are constantly rising. Therefore, for most users, the only safe way to obtain a rare item is to wait for it to return to the store—if the developers decide to make it available again at all.