When Chappell Roan took her place as Fortnite Festival’s latest headlining artist on Thursday, the Rainbow Royale section of the Fortnite item shop also popped up, offering a set of free Pride-related cosmetics as well as some paid items, like the Maizy skin. The appearance of the Rainbow Royale section is actually a big deal, because Fortnite did not hold any recognition of Pride in 2025. This marks the first time Rainbow Royale shop section has popped up since September 2024.
For those who haven’t seen this part of the shop before, the Rainbow Royale section includes several free sprays and emoticons, a free jam track, a free rainbow weapon wrap, and a free rainbow emote. Folks with V-Bucks to burn can grab the Prismatic Pride bundle featuring the Maizy skin and some rainbow accessories for 1,500 V-Bucks (abut $13).
Fortnite skipping Pride became a hot topic late in 2024, as fans speculated that Epic may have been taking an anti-diversity stance in response to the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency. Considering Rainbow Royale had been an annual thing for several years in a row, and how effusive the Trump administration has been with its frequently racist and anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, even we couldn’t help but see a connection. Epic told GameSpot in October that “We missed the Rainbow Royale window while we focused on shipping other activations and modes.” But it’s unclear how or why work on new modes would interfere with bringing back existing shop sections and items that have been in the game for years. The contents of this shop section have remained unchanged since 2022.
While we ultimately can’t say for sure why Fortnite skipped Pride last year, we can appreciate that Epic is starting 2026 right by bringing back the free Pride cosmetics and introducing its first queer music pass headliner since Billie Eilish in Spring 2024. It may be too soon to assume this move represents a sea change for Epic–the Rainbow Royale section is only sticking around for four days, after all. But it’s certainly a good sign, regardless.
