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Epic Games recently released a new Pet named Gunner in Fortnite: Battle Royale, and fans quickly pointed out that the little doggo is basically a reskinned version of a previously released dog, Bonesy. Now, Epic has responded to the news, saying it made a mistake in releasing Gunner.

The company will give out refunds to everyone who bought Gunner, and in an attempt to make up for the problem, Epic is also giving players who purchased Gunner 200 free V-bucks. What’s more, Gunner is being erased from Fortnite entirely.

“We should not have released the Gunner Pet and apologize for doing so. Within the next couple of days, all purchases of Gunner will be refunded for the full amount of 1000 V-bucks as well as an additional 200 V-bucks and the Pet will be removed from the Locker,” Epic said in a statement.

Players who purchased Gunner and use Fortnite’s in-game refund tools to get a refund will receive the 200 free V-bucks and an extra refund token.

As comparison images show, Gunner was merely a simple reskin of Bonesy with a lighter shade of fur and some minor tweaks like a skull logo on his scarf. Adding to the controversy, Bonesy was originally exclusive to the Season 6 Battle Pass; Epic had pledged that items in Battle Passes would never be sold separately. So when Epic started selling Gunner, the Bonesy clone, people got upset that Epic seemed to be going back on its promise.

Fortnite Season X Coverage

• Fortnite Season 10 Battle Pass: Skins, Price, How It Works, And More
• Fortnite Season 10 Battle Pass Rewards: Skins, Emotes, Back Bling, Pets, And More
• Fortnite Season 10 Update Notes: BRUTE Mech, Rift Zones, And More
• Fortnite Season 10: Big Changes To How Daily & Weekly Challenges Work
• Fortnite Season 10 Map Changes: Rift Zones, Comet, Skeleton, And More
• Fortnite 10.00 Content Update: Titled Town, Automatic Sniper Rifle, And More

Epic has rolled out another new update for Fortnite: Battle Royale. Following a slight delay, patch 10.10 is now live across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, and it brings back another classic area of the island and makes some welcome changes to the game’s overpowered mech suits. Here are the patch notes.

First, a Rift Zone has caused Mega Mall to revert to Retail Row. This time, however, the shopping center is overrun by zombie-like Fiends, making it a dangerous place to visit. This is the second area of the island to be transformed by a Rift Zone this season thus far; last week, Neo Tilted was turned into the Wild West-themed Tilted Town.

In addition to Retail Row’s return, Epic is kicking off a new limited-time mode called World Run. This Squads mode divides 16 players up into four teams, and the group that collects 30 coins the fastest will be declared the winner. Meanwhile, the legendary Infinity Blade has been unvaulted for the Sword Fight Squads and Duos LTM, although this time its environmental damage has been significantly reduced.

Finally, Epic has made an assortment of balance tweaks, most notably to the new B.R.U.T.E mechs, which fans have criticized as being overpowered since they were introduced at the start of the season. Now, a targeting laser has been added, giving both teammates and opponents a much clearer idea of where the mech is aiming. The mechs will also spawn less frequently in certain modes.

You can read what else has changed in Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode below, while the full patch notes can be found on Epic’s website.

Fortnite: Battle Royale v10.10 Patch Notes

What’s New?

Retail Row

A Rift Zone has turned Mega Mall back into Retail Row, and prices have dropped significantly. These discounts come at the cost of increased danger — bargain-crazed Fiends are spawning in the Rift Zone, and they want the shopping center all to themselves.

Limited-Time Modes

World Run LTM

Team Type: Squads | Respawning: On

• 16 Players.
• 4 Teams.
• The team to collect 30 coins fastest wins.
  • In the event that two teams collect the same amount of coins, the team that was faster will win.

Weapons & Items

• Unvaulted only in the Sword Fight Squads and Duos LTMs:
  • Infinity Blade
    • Reduced the environmental damage from 10000 to 600.
• Increased the number of resource stacks contained in Chests in Tilted Town from 1 to 3.
• B.R.U.T.E. updates:
  • Added a targeting laser that appears as players load and fire missiles.
    • In addition to the B.R.U.T.E.’s gunner, this laser is visible to opponents and teammates.
    • This is to help give clarity to all players on where a gunner is aiming their rockets before they’re fired.
  • Improved visual and audio feedback during the self-destruct sequence.
  • B.R.U.T.E.s can now be entered directly from glider mode.
  • Updated B.R.U.T.E. spawn logic for large team respawn game modes.
    • B.R.U.T.Es will now spawn intermittently throughout the match instead of waiting for Storm phases to end.
  • B.R.U.T.E.s abandoned in the Storm will self-destruct after 30 seconds.
  • B.R.U.T.E.s will reappear on the minimap after 15 seconds if no player is in either seat.
• On Saturday, August 10, we lowered the spawn rates of the B.R.U.T.E. per Storm circle in Arena and Tournament playlists. We will continue to monitor the impact of this change in advance of next weekend’s Champion Series event.
  • Beginning of Match
    • 21.5% chance that between 1-3 B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
      • Previously was 100% chance that between 2-4 B.R.U.T.Es would spawn
  • Storm 1
    • 44% chance that between 1-4 B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
      • Previously was 100% chance that between 2-4 B.R.U.T.Es would spawn
  • Storm 2
    • 40% chance that between 1-2 B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
      • Previously was 100% chance that between 1-3 B.R.U.T.Es would spawn
  • Storm 3
    • 40% chance that between 1-2 B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
      • Previously was 66% chance that 2 B.R.U.T.Es would spawn
  • Storm 4
    • 10% chance that 1 B.R.U.T.E will spawn
      • Previously was 50% chance that 1 B.R.U.T.E would spawn
  • Storm 5
    • 3% chance that 1 B.R.U.T.E will spawn
      • Previously was 10% chance that 1 B.R.U.T.E would spawn

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in which opponents’ B.R.U.T.E.s would sometimes not be visible.
• B.R.U.T.E.s can no longer be used to traverse the map faster than intended.
• The turn rate of B.R.U.T.E.’s turret is no longer framerate-dependent.

Gameplay

• Retail Row
  • A Rift Zone has replaced the Mega Mall POI with Retail Row.
    • Retail Row now spawns hordes of Fiends who charge at players.
      • Fiends may drop a weapon, consumable, or ammo upon being eliminated.
      • Fiends cannot go outside the Retail Row Rift Zone.
• Chests and ammo containers will now open when destroyed.
  • Known issue: Destroying a Chest or ammo container by destroying the object it is placed on will not open it.
    • We plan to have this issue resolved in the v10.20 update.

Bug Fixes

• The Week 1 and Week 2 Hidden Battle Stars can now be collected.
• Fixed an issue in which the Bush would reset its displayed equip timer if the player tried to activate it multiple times. (Players would still be able to equip the Bush at the intended time, but the displayed timer would be incorrect.)
• Fixed an issue in which Supply Drop smoke would not appear if the box was not in sight.
• Trees no longer turn into different kinds of trees upon being damaged.
  • This includes snow-covered trees no longer turning into non-snow-covered trees.
• Fixed an issue in which Chests would sometimes already be broken or opened at the start of a match.
• The “Welcome to Tilted Town” message no longer loops when players enter/exit Titled Town. It also no longer overlaps Storm warnings.
• Walking over in-motion Bottle/Fancy Flip Toys no longer causes a camera issue.

Events

• Pushed a fix on August 5 to address an Arena matchmaking issue causing players to be matched within a wider Hype range than intended.
  • Because players are now matched within a narrower Hype range, some players may experience longer queue times. This is to ensure higher-quality matches.

VGC analysis suggests that around half of the core team that worked on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the last mainline entry in the series, is still working at Retro Studios today.

Around 50 developers worked full-time on the 2007 Wii shooter, of which around 27 still remain according to LinkedIn.

This includes four contractors that were given permanent roles and five of Metroid Prime 3’s 11 designers. In an announcement earlier this year, Nintendo said it had decided to “restart development from the beginning” on Metroid Prime 4. The sequel was revealed at E3 2017 but has been quiet ever since. Producer Kensuke Tanabe called in Retro to take over development on the project from its original, unannounced developer–rumoured to be Bandai Namco–so it’s safe to assume former Metroid Prime alums will be working on the new game.

Most of the lead creators from the series have moved on, however. Mark Pacini, the lead designer for all three Metroid Prime games, left Retro in 2008 to found Armature Studio. The developer put out ReCore in 2016, and has since collaborated with Epic Games in providing development support for Fortnite: Save the World. A further seven creators departed Retro to join Bluepoint Games, which has developed the recent remake of Shadow of the Colossus, and also released remastered bundles such as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.

Retro has been hiring for Metroid Prime 4 ever since Nintendo announced the studio’s work on the project.

Both Amazon and Best Buy are now selling the new and improved Nintendo Switch model, with the latter currently advertising $25 extra trade-in credit for those looking to purchase the updated console.

The star of the show for the updated Switch model is longer battery life. Nintendo’s official estimate puts the new model’s battery life between 4.5 and 9 hours, depending on the game you’re playing. This is an improvement over the original Switch, which lasted for between 2.5 and 6.5 hours, and the 3 to 7 hours offered by the upcoming Switch Lite.

Early tests run by a Hong Kong YouTube channel called MeeMeGame Channel, shows the new Switch lasting for five hours and 36 minutes while playing launch title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Another test shows the recently released Fire Emblem: Three Houses running for two hours in portable mode, with 60% of the battery life still remaining.

Kevin Kenson, another YouTube creator, had previously confirmed that the new Switch model has an updated screen model number, which would explain why his tests revealed that the screen is both brighter and closer to true white balance in tone. This would also fit Sharp’s announcement that its IGZO display would be used by Nintendo’s consoles in the future.

Beyond this, the updated Switch model’s Tegra X1 processor also runs cooler, which in turn keeps your Switch from heating up as much. It’s worth mentioning that despite these improvements, the new Switch model isn’t a comparable upgrade to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, so there aren’t any increases in performance other than a longer-lasting battery.

If you have one of the older Switch models and don’t want to purchase the new one outright from either Amazon or Best Buy, GameStop stores are currently running an offer where you can trade in the launch model for $225, up from the usual $200, as part of a limited-time deal. This brings the $300 Switch revision to $75, netting you a tasty saving. This offer is valid until September 15.

If you’d rather trade in your old launch model for the upcoming Switch Lite, you can use your $225 trade credit towards a pre-order for that instead. The Switch Lite costs $200 and releases on September 20, five days after this trade-in promotion ends, so you’ll need to live without your precious Switch for a few days.

For more Nintendo Switch news, stay on GameSpot:

Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.

Epic has always made a big deal out of the fact that the cosmetic items contained in Fortnite’s Battle Pass are exclusive to the pass and will never be sold separately. This provides an extra incentive for Battle Pass owners to keep coming back and playing every day, knowing that they only have one season to unlock every unique item available.

So it’s disappointing that today’s Fortnite shop update has arrived with a very familiar-looking pooch. Season 6 of the Battle Pass introduced pets to Fortnite as a type of back bling, including everything from dogs to dragons and chameleons. Bonesy was one of these pets–a small dog with a scarf–and had various styles throughout season 6, all more elaborate than this new store item.

Gunner, as the new pet is called, is a simple reskin of Bonesy. He has a slightly lighter shade of fur, is wearing a mask, and has a small skull logo on his scarf, but that’s about it. Epic isn’t fooling anyone.

Reddit user PhantomRacer32 made the following comparison to highlight the similarities or lack thereof:

Back in June, fans claimed Epic had already reneged on its self-imposed rule by selling a beachwear version of season 5 Battle Pass character Drift. However, the model had a new hairstyle, a completely new set of clothes, new accessories, and a separate back bling item, so it was somewhat justifiable. The same cannot be said of Gunner.

The Fortnite Battle Pass costs 950 in-game V-Bucks. The cheapest V-Bucks bundle you can purchase is 1000 for $9.99 / £7.99, leaving you with a few leftovers to spend. By comparison, Gunner costs a flat 1000 V-Bucks–more than a Battle Pass–for a barely noticeable reskin.

It sets a worrying precedent moving forward if Epic decides to sell previous Battle Pass cosmetics separately with only slight tweaks.

Fortnite Season X Coverage

• Fortnite Season 10 Battle Pass: Skins, Price, How It Works, And More
• Fortnite Season 10 Battle Pass Rewards: Skins, Emotes, Back Bling, Pets, And More
• Fortnite Season 10 Update Notes: BRUTE Mech, Rift Zones, And More
• Fortnite Season 10: Big Changes To How Daily & Weekly Challenges Work
• Fortnite Season 10 Map Changes: Rift Zones, Comet, Skeleton, And More
• Fortnite 10.00 Content Update: Titled Town, Automatic Sniper Rifle, And More