Fortnite Winterfest 2021 Is Live With Free Skins, New Modes, And More (2024)

By Mark Delaney on December 16, 2021 at 6:00AM PST

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Fortnite Winterfest is back just in time for the holidays. This time, you'll have the chance to not only get over a dozen free cosmetics, including two new skins, but the event is also hosted by none other than Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson themselves, fresh off the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Tom Holland- and Zendaya-inspired skins make their debut in Fortnite, which also puts them in rare company with official MCU skins coming to the game.

Winterfest Lodge

Winterfest kicks off today and runs until 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET on January 6. Sgt. Winter (who is basically the Santa from I Think You Should Leave, by the way) is taking over Crackshot's Cabin. You'll also see him soaring around the island in his sleigh, throwing gifts to loopers on his nice list (Hint: shoot him to get on his naughty list if you're looking for a fight).

Each day for 14 days, you can visit the lodge and open a new present from the grizzled Saint Nick himself. In total, you'll earn rewards in the following categories, though Epic said no peeking--you'll meant to open them to learn exactly what most of these are. However, dataminers have decrypted them, if you're the type to peek in your parents' closet for spoilers. Otherwise, here are the categories of presents you'll receive this year:

• Two skins
• Two pickaxes
• Two wraps
• One glider
• One contrail
• One emote
• One lobby track
• One loading screen
• One emoticon
• One spray
• One banner

Epic is, however, lifting the lid on two of the gift boxes: You can get the new Krisabelle and Polar Peely skins totally for free, just by checking in at the Winterfest Lodge on their release dates.

The Krisabelle and Polar Peely skins will be the two that you can claim entirely for free this season. But that's not the end of the free stuff. Check out the Fortnite Winterfest challenges to see earn even more cosmetics without dropping a single V-Buck.

Winterfest Creative maps

After working with the community earlier this year, Epic is also unveiling new player-made maps that will be given a bright spotlight in the game's Creative suite. If you participate in any of the featured maps for a combined two hours or more, you'll get the Ol’ Cracky emoticon, Llamistletoe spray, Merry Marauder banner, and 2022 New Year’s Banner. The featured maps are now live and run alongside the rest of Winterfest.

Unvaulted Winterfest items

What's a Winterfest without snowballs? Several classic and icy weapons and items are back for the duration of Winterfest as well. On your battle royale travels, look out for Chiller Grenades, Snowball Launchers, and the Sneaky Snowman. You'll also come across presents that can be deployed into makeshift mini-forts that include a few (usually high-quality) weapons.

MCU Spider-Man and Mary Jane Skins

As if the Fortnite community wasn't already excited about Winterfest, Epic is taking it to another level with the reveal of Spider-Man and Mary Jane, new skins based on the characters' likenesses in the new movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. You can learn more about those here.

Bonus free Blizzabelle skin for PC players

If you're playing on PC via the Epic Games Store--or even if you just log in there a single time--you can also grab an alternate version on a very wintry Isabelle, Blizzabelle. The fan-made skin has now seen several makeovers, dating back to her Halloween reimagining as the undead Grizzabelle. Blizzabelle will be in the digital storefront and free for all players until 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on January 6.

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