Fortnite's upcoming jetpacks will be temporary but at least its Rocketeer skin is forever

Fortnite's Venturion skin.

Fortnite jetpacks are coming months after they were first announced, but they won't be staying long. A new announcement on Fortnite: Battle Royale's in-game news page teases that the jetpack is "coming soon" (which typically means in the next patch) but the post also reveals that the jetpack will be a "limited-time item" when it finally does arrive.

The text for Fortnite's jetpack news post.

When jetpacks were originally announced for Fortnite back in February, no mention was made of them only being available for a limited time. As far as I know, this is the first explicitly temporary item that Epic has ever announced for the game; though others, like the short-lived Guided Missile Launcher, ended up being effectively temporary. I wonder if jetpacks will be found exclusively in a corresponding Limited-Time Mode (sign me up for a good Jetpack Duel any day of the week) or if will propagate into all facets of Battle Royale for as long as it's available.

Though many folks were excited by the initial jetpack announcement, others were dubious about how such a powerful new mobility option could upend the Fortnite's emphasis on building and positioning. If jetpacks are temporary then everybody can just focus on having fun with them for a while, knowing that the build-and-brawl basics will soon return to their normal state.

If you're looking for a more permanent way to show your love for impractical means of sci-fi conveyance, you can prepare with a new item set Epic added to the cash shop over the weekend. The Venturion skin is directly evocative of The Rocketeer (you know, from that way-pre-MCU Disney superhero movie) as well as original pulp futurist heroes like Commando Cody. There's a matching pickaxe and glider, too.

Need something to keep you busy while you're waiting for your jetpack to arrive? Try playing through our list of the best free games. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.