Fortnite has pulled Travis Scott’s “Out West” emote from sale

In the wake of the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert in Texas, Fortnite has pulled the rapper’s “Out West” emote from sale in the daily shop. 

To stop the sale of the Icon Series “Out West” emote, which played a sample of Scott’s song, Out West, Epic Games hastily took the entire Daily section of Fortnite’s item shop down, preventing anyone else from buying the emote. 

In a statement issued on Twitter, Epic Games revealed that this decision “is intentional and the ‘Daily’ section will return in the next Item Shop refresh.” Epic Games, however, did not explain specifically what caused this intentional takedown.

While the Daily section of Fortnite’s Item Shop is back up and running now, this takedown does pose an interesting question about the future of the game since it’s riddled with real-world likenesses and branded cosmetics. 

Due to the eight deaths and over 300 injuries that occurred as a result of the crowd surging at Scott’s Astroworld concert, it’s unsurprising that Epic Games would want to distance Fortnite from the rapper at the moment, even if that isn’t the explicitly stated reason. 

It’s currently unclear when, or indeed if, the “Out West” emote will return to sale. Players who already own the “Out West” emote are still able to use it in-game, however, there have been calls from fans to lock or restrict the use of the emote in the wake of the tragedy.