How to get the new ‘Fortnite’ Infinity Blade (and a brief history)

Dec 11, 2018

By Herb Scribner

Epic Games declared its new “Fortnite” weapon fit only for a king.

What’s going on: Teasers from “Fortnite” this week showed off an ice king character holding a large sword, promising that the weapon would be “coming soon” to the video game.

Well, newly released patch notes for “Fortnite” reveal that indeed a new weapon is coming — the Infinity Blade.

https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/1072144522036031488

What is it?: The weapon, which doesn’t cost any v-bucks (the game’s digital currency) can be found at the Polar Peak location, which is new to season 7, which began with half the map getting encased in ice, according to Engadget.

You can find the sword at the castle, which had previously been frozen in ice until now.

The weapon can deal 75 damage to other players and destroy other buildings.

Players with the sword receive full health and armor.

Players will move faster than everyone else.

Health will regenerate after taking damage.

However: Anyone who picks up the weapon will lose all their other inventory items and weapons, except for building material, Engadget reports.

Flashback: Back in May, “Fortnite” teamed with Disney for an “Avengers” crossover event in which players could play as Thanos. I wrote about how players could become nearly invincible when they became Thanos in the game.

History: Gamers might recognize the super sword. As The Verge notes, the melee weapon previously existed in the “Infinity Blade” trilogy of games developed by Epic and Chair Entertainment.

Epic released a statement Tuesday saying “it has become increasingly difficult for our team to support the ‘Infinity Blade’ series at a level that meets our standards.”

Epic hinted at the game’s arrival in “Fortnite,” too.

“As we bid farewell, be sure to keep your eyes peeled. You may find Infinity Blade popping up in places you wouldn’t expect.”

Bigger picture: Epic’s decision hints that the gaming company will have exclusive content, according to Kotaku, a video game news website.

Epic Games announced plans to launch a new Epic Games Store, which will provide free games to customers, according to VentureBeat.

Developers will submit games to the store, which can then be bought by customers.

The company plans to take 12 percent of the cut of all revenues. The other 88 percent will go to the actual developers of the game.

“As a developer ourselves, we have always wanted a platform with great economics that connects us directly with our players,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney explained in a statement. “Thanks to the success of ‘Fortnite,’ we now have this and are ready to share it with other developers.”

The store will launch with a few games before expanding next year.

The service will offer two free games per month, according to PC Gamer.

Familiar: Epic Games will be following in the footsteps of Steam, an online store where indie developers submit their own video games, Ars Technica reports.

Steam currently offers a 70-30 percent split with its developers.