Fortnite is now teasing the arrival of the “Baller,” a new hamster ball-shaped vehicle with some sort of suction cup on the end that I assume can whip you around the map like Hammond from Overwatch. But it’s no surprise to eagle-eyed fans who caught the fact that the Baller was present in the day one season 8 loading screen for the game.
As you can see, if you zoom into a certain part of the screen, you can see the Baller lurking in the background. And it’s not the only thing. So far, it seems like at least four out of the ten weeks of new items and additions to the game are already on this page.
Besides the Baller, which may be the most well-hidden, we have the treasure map which has already arrived in Fortnite. Someone holding a simple scroll did not seem like a new item up front, but yes, treasure maps did actually make their way into the game as a new mechanic where you can follow them to find a treasure trove of buried legendary loot nearby.
That leaves weapons, the first of which is pretty clear. Fortnite is getting a compound bow, as in the one held by the Ember skin in the loading screen here. Fortnite has had crossbows in the past, but never an actual bow, and from Tomb Raider to Far Cry to now even Destiny, bows are becoming a video game staple and it’s clear Fortnite doesn’t want to be left out of the party. The end of the arrow looks unusual, like some sort of cartridge instead of an arrowhead, so I wonder if it could be an explosive bow instead.
The next weapon is the pirate-era pistol being held by Blackheart. Some people are saying that this is the return of the old-school Revolver, which did look somewhat like this back when Fortnite wasn’t modeling its guns after real-life weapons most of the time, but my guess is that it’s something different. Something closer range that the old Revolver, though that barrel is narrow enough not to be a handheld shotgun (Mozambique here!).
Past these four, I’m not sure what else this loading screen might be hiding. I have scoured it pretty thoroughly but the only thing I can come up with is that the octopus on the pirate sail might be a tease to an upcoming Kraken monster fight that has a few other hints in the game so far. Or it might be because China isn’t allowed to show skull imagery in games and they needed something else to put on the sail.
I do wonder if the keys that Master Key has and the lock around Lux’s neck have an actual story or gameplay significance, but perhaps I’m reading too much into that.
For now, prepare yourself for the new pistol and bow in the next few weeks. And maybe a giant octopus, who knows.
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