A pristine copy of Fortnite just sold for $42,500, which seems like a lot for a free-to-play game.
To be fair, this is a boxed version of Fortnite – something that also gives you access to the original Save the World mode, which Epic Games still requires you to pay a diminutive amount to access.
However, there is no suggestion that this sealed copy of the world’s greatest Battle Royale game will ever be playable. Indeed, it came in a box and was rated 10 A++ by video game rating company Wata – the highest quality score possible.
Sold by Heritage Auctionsthis copy of Fortnite is the Xbox One version of the original 2017 game. Only a confined number of physical copies were produced, and the origins of this edition date back to when the game’s now ubiquitous Battle Royale mode was merely an add-on.
As mentioned, it includes access to Save the World, which is worth… something. Epic Games has made the original Fortnite mode available in bundles in many ways over the years, but it’s currently selling access to it as an $18.49 add-on that includes 1,500 V-Bucks (which costs $18 separately) and an exclusive skin.
However, even with this in mind, you are still paying $42,482 over the course.
Today, Fortnite is a completely different beast – a meta version of Battle Royale modes, user-generated maps, as well as LEGO and music offerings. Oh, and it’s home to almost every media franchise ever licensed to a video game, as well as bona fide pop stars and now even Quentin Tarantino.
This morning, Tarantino fans got their first look at the “Kill Bill” director’s up-to-date “The Lost Chapter,” which stars the animated Uma Thurman and Fortnite’s Banana Peely, and will debut first in the game. Tell that to someone in 2017 and I doubt they’ll believe you.
Of course, video games fetching huge sums as collectibles is nothing up-to-date – in the grand scheme of things, $42,500 pales in comparison to prices at other auctions. Coming in 2021, a factory-sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. it sold for a record $2 million, although there is some debate as to whether the sale counts as an auction in the established sense. Officially, Guinness Records considers a copy of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.56 million to be the highest amount ever pledged for a video game. But who knows how much this copy of Fortnite will be worth in another 100 years?
If you’re looking for the best deals this week, we’re actively searching for the best Black Friday deals on video games, tech and more. You’ll find all our top picks and price cuts in our full version Black Friday Centeror check out our relevant pages regarding PlayStation, NintendoAND Xbox offers.
Photo credit: Heritage Auctions/HA.com
Tom Phillips is IGN’s news editor. You can contact Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
