Gamers no longer have to chant “Release the Bao Bros” because Epic Games has finally moved forward and released them.
“Steamed up and ready for action. The Bao Bros are now available in the Item Shop!” Fortnite tweeted yesterday. It was a short and sweet message that seemed a little underwhelming to a Fortnite community that has been waiting for the Bao Bros skin since it was leaked in May.
The long-awaited Bao Bros skin arrives
A lot of skins were leaked ahead of Season 9’s first patch, v9.10, including Doggo, Sandstorm, Bao Bros, and Scimitar. But when the update finally hit, Bao Bros was nowhere to be seen.
Despite data miners like Lucas7Yoshi revealing the Bao Bros skin, along with other cosmetics and items, within Forntite’s files after the patch, yet Bao Bros remained unreleased.
Since Lucas7Yoshi’s infamous leak in the spring, Bao Bros hasn’t left the Fortnite community’s collective mind. Players posted “Release the Bao Bros” every time Epic Games tweeted an Item Shop update. It was the skin that players not only wanted, but deserved.
“Imagine being the artist who created bao bros not seeing their skin in-game for nearly a year,” Lucas7Yoshi tweeted in November, with the skin still clearly on his mind.
In early December, data miners leaked some sensitive information about the upcoming holiday update. This included a possible Annual Pass for 2020. Fortnite Intel wrote about the possibility of an Annual Pass in a subsequent article, which prompted Epic Games PR Nick Chester to reach out to the publication.
“While the 2020 Annual Pass was considered, we have no plans to release it… unlike the Bao Bros,” Chester wrote.
Twenty days later, Bao Bros finally appeared in the Item Shop.
Each Bao Bros design features a head inspired by a bao, a bread-like dumpling filled with various meats. One sports a frying pan on his head and a raw steak and carrots in his tool belt. Another wears a bamboo steamer as a mask. All four Bao Bros wear clothing inspired by traditional Chinese attire.
The Bao Bros set comes with not just the epic skin, but a Souped Up harvesting tool and a Bao Basket cosmetic item. The set is listed for 1,500 V-Bucks. So far, Epic hasn’t stated how long the food-inspired skins will remain in the shop.
