Fortnite Pets Adds Sidkicks to Battle Royale

A big change has just come to Fortnite! A feature that leakers have been talking about for months now has finally been fully announced and is getting enabled soon, Fortnite Pets! Or companions as the early leaks called them. This was a feature that was just “an update away” for most of the year according to leakers. In a bizarre update just days before the season ends though, it has been enabled. These are Fortnite Sidekicks, a new form of cosmetic you can set in the locker.

The sidekicks have been shown off in a big blog post from Epic. Including how a bunch of them will look. Like Fortnite pets designed after specific skins. It’s another cosmetic slot that’s getting added to the locker. How will they all work?

How Do Fortnite Pets Work?

Sidekicks are a brand-new feature that is getting enabled in Fortnite. These are a new version of Pets, little creatures that tag along with you. This time they’ve been activated in Battle Royale, Lego modes, and more. Although, we probably won’t see a big change in gameplay for Fortnite XP maps now pets are kicking around.

The Fortnite Sidekicks won’t be fully shown off until November 1st when the season launches. But Epic has announced quite a bit about them ahead of time. We’ll see some interesting additions once wider pets start to arrive in the shop. It’s at least a bit more exciting than our last new cosmetic item, which were just shoes.

Customizable Appearance

Something that’s interesting about the Fortnite pets is that they’re customizable. They’ll have a few details you can mix up before deciding. Although, they’re also only customizable one-time.

In the past, these kinds of changeable appearances could be set whenever you wanted in the locker. But for pets, it’s one time. You make your decision then you’re stuck with it. Kind of like the customizable Maya skin back in Chapter 2 of Fortnite. It’s a bit of a shame to not get to pick whenever you want each time, but it does mean pets will look pretty different from player to player.

Sidekicks will also be able to earn points, called Sidekick points. It isn’t clear what these do just yet.

The First Pet – Peels

The Fortnite sidekicks are starting up with the next season, the first one will be Peels. This is essentially Peely as a dog! It’s a fun design. He’ll be in the Battle Pass so a lot of players will be able to unlock them.

More Fortnite sidekicks are coming too. We’ve already seen a few more announced. Like the Bonesy Sidekick, Spike, and Lil Raptor. These aren’t all dogs. They’re pretty creative designs for the game.

Fortnite Pets Difference

This new feature isn’t a huge surprise given all of the leaks. But we have had a similar thing in the past. Fortnite companions are an upgraded form of pets. It’s a feature that players have wanted since we started getting Fortnite cosmetics of animals, but they were always just visual before.

Pets were backblings where an animal came along with you. They weren’t featured beyond a few Fortnite seasons. It might have been because of a mix up, Epic put basically the same pet in the Item Shop and Battle Pass. There was a backlash, and we didn’t see any more pets added for quite a while. We did get more backblings and other features which utilized pet like designs. Such as the Baby Yoda backbling that came with Mando.

The big difference though is that these things just sat there. Or possibly had a couple of reactive animations. Whereas Fortnite companions are going to be a more full-on feature.

The Endless Fortnite Companions Leaks

Fortnite leakers frequently show us quite a bit about how the game is going to change ahead of time. From early looks at skins and the whole Battle Pass, like we’ve seen with the Fortnite mini season, to bigger leaks about the roadmap ahead. Usually, a feature getting leaked means it’s getting closer to release.

But Fortnite sidekicks are one of those Fortnite leaks which hung around for ages. While we get quicker Fortnite leaks like the Simpsons map, the companions have been “next update” for ages.

One particular time they were said to be coming soon was Krypto. Before the Chapter 6 Season 2 Fortnite update, Krypto was apparently all set to come as a companion. Then he was something entirely different. Similarly, Scooby Doo, who actually got a full Fortnite skin.

While leakers seem pretty set on Fortnite companions, it’s taken quite a bit longer to actually turn up! Fortnite companions are finally coming though. Sidekicks will be a fun addition to all modes of the game. There are tons of potential for new Fortnite pets now. Things like Pokemon would fit great, but that’s still pretty unlikely as a Nintendo IP.