Is the Pump Shotgun actually back in Fortnite? Debunking the viral rumor

Despite a viral rumor stating its return, according to Fortnite’s files and the in-game loot pool itself, the Pump Shotgun is not back in any way. According to secondary sources, while there was a way to obtain the weapon back in Chapter 3 Season 1, it was patched via hotfix. As it stands, the Pump Shotgun was also removed from the Late Game Area at the start of Chapter 4 Season 2.

That being said, there is no way to obtain or acquire the weapon in-game. While it can be found in Creative Mode, it's a different situation altogether. But as far as the Battle Royale Mode goes, it's not present there. On that note, how did the rumor/false information go viral?

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"Fake" Fortnite Status account on Twitter enjoys 'trolling' the community

To understand how this happened, some context will be needed. With Fortnite having a strong presence on social media, especially Twitter, it has several official accounts related to the game.

One caters to the Creative side of things, while the other focuses on the Battle Royale Mode. Last but not least, the Twitter account 'FortniteStatus' provides information about upcoming updates, in-game issues, and other major changes.

Rewind to 2020, a parody account called 'ForkniteStatuss' was created. Unfortunately, while this one and the official account both have different usernames, their display names are the same. Hence, players often mistakenly follow the 'fake' account rather than the official one on Twitter.

Coming back to the viral rumor regarding the Pump Shotgun, on March 20, 2023, 'ForkniteStatuss' tweeted out a post about the weapon returning to the game. While it was likely done to 'farm' impressions and have some innocent fun, things escalated fast.

As of today, the satirical post has over 1,000 retweets, 400 plus quotes, and 18,000 likes. It has also been bookmarked 121 times. To top it all off, over 1,200,000 users on Twitter have seen this post as of today (March 24, 2023). Here are a few comments left by confused netizens on the post:

It's clear to see that while some took the 'fake' post in their stride, others were rather taken aback and called out the tweet for its inaccuracy. Nevertheless, this does raise the question, "When will the Pump Shotgun be back in Fortnite?"

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Will the Pump Shotgun come out next season, or ever?

The last time the weapon was available in Fortnite's BR mode was during Chapter 2 Season 8. This was over two years ago. Given that the gun has been vaulted through Chapter 3 and remains vaulted in Chapter 4, it's very unlikely that it will make a return next season.

Furthermore, with the Havoc Pump Shotgun being dubbed the new Pump Shotgun, this lowers the chances of the OG weapon ever making a return. While this may be disheartening to many players, Epic Games must surely have its reasons to keep the weapon vaulted.

Perhaps someday it will make a grand return, but for now, one will have to make do with the shotguns available in Chapter 4 Season 2. Although they aren't as legendary as the Pump Shotgun, they do get the job done in the heat of battle.