Fortnite’s latest Star Wars season has introduced one of its most talked-about skins yet — Darth Jar Jar — but not without sparking a wave of controversy among players. The skin, now available in the Fortnite Shop, comes with an unusual catch: before you can even purchase it for 1500 V-Bucks (roughly $13), you must first earn 1.28 million XP to unlock the privilege.
This marks one of the more extreme XP requirements Fortnite has imposed on a cosmetic in recent seasons, especially considering the high anticipation surrounding this particular Star Wars collaboration. While the game has occasionally locked skins behind XP thresholds before, doing so for such a major release has left many fans scratching their heads — and some, frustrated.
With the Star Wars season set to conclude on June 7, players are already racing against the clock to accumulate enough XP. And for those who’ve already completed their Battle Pass? The grind continues — only this time, it's purely for access to a single skin.
“I was so hyped for this skin and was fine with it being behind a pay wall — after all, it’s just another skin,” wrote one disappointed player on Reddit. “But this whole ‘locked behind an XP wall’ thing is ridiculous. You want me to earn the right to give you money? I immediately closed the game.”
Adding fuel to the fire is the simultaneous release of the standard Jar Jar Binks skin, which also costs 1500 V-Bucks but doesn’t require any XP grind. When combined with various accessories for both the Sith and Gungan versions, players could end up spending as much as 6,500 V-Bucks — over $50 — for the full collection.
“Regular Jar Jar alone is $20,” another fan noted. “If you want both, that s\*\*t is $52 total for something that should’ve just been one skin with three styles.”
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Still, not everyone sees the grind as unreasonable. Some players have taken to forums to defend the XP requirement, noting that it’s manageable with focused gameplay over a few sessions.
“It wasn’t that hard to earn the XP — took me around 8 or 9 hours,” shared one player. “I had no plans on Saturday anyway. I played Rocket Racing, Ranked, and did Alignment Challenges to farm as much XP as possible. Nothing is forcing anyone to buy every item in the Shop. You can just pick and choose.”
As the season progresses, attention turns to Mandalorian-themed content, including a highly anticipated customizable Mandalorian skin expected to arrive in the Shop soon. The season will culminate in a live narrative event on June 7, believed to involve a dramatic boarding of the Death Star — which has loomed over the map since the start of the season.
Meanwhile, Epic Games' ongoing legal battle with Apple has added another layer of tension, with reports indicating Fortnite remains blocked from returning to the iPhone App Store in the U.S.
