Is the Emerald Fortnite pickaxe actually free? A look into the viral rumor

A viral Fortnite scam has potentially emerged ahead of St. Patrick's Day. Every year, St. Patrick's Day items arrive in the Item Shop, which means there are likely to be some themed items returning in the next shop cycle.

One new item that players expect to arrive in the Item Shop is the Emerald Axe, and there are even rumors that it will be free. Epic Games often gives away free cosmetic rewards, so it wouldn't be a surprise.

However, is this particular pickaxe coming to the game? Will it be free? It certainly doesn't seem to be.

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Viral rumors about Emerald Axe coming to Fortnite are possible scams

It appears as if the entire Emerald Axe viral rumor is entirely false. There seems to be no real reason to believe that the pickaxe is even coming to the game, let alone be free. In fact, it could very well be a scam.

The scams have been based on tweets like this one.

It reads:

"Hello Everyone, we are proud to announce that we have Partnered with the app @temu to exclusively release the Emerald Axe! Just download (Temu)"Shopping app" and type this code. '89041397' Accept And then create an account with you Fortnite Username to claim!"

Besides being littered with grammatical and spelling errors, the tweets are not from any official accounts. The Temu app mentioned in the tweet doesn't even contain a download link.

Furthermore, neither Epic Games nor any reliable Fortnite leakers have ever said anything about the Emerald Axe coming to the game for free. Epic rarely ever does crossovers with an outside entity that requires players to engage them.

When they do, though, it's stated by them, and it's safe, while this is anything but. The image of the axe is a bit blurry as well, making it even less realistic. It also appears to be nothing more than a recolored Star Wand pickaxe.

YouTuber Tabor Hill also pointed out something important, saying:

"This image tells us nothing about how to get it, especially how to get it for free... I assume that's a real shopping app and I also assume that if you use that code, they get some kind of money, some promotion or something that benefits them and you get diddly squat in return."

It's no doubt concerning that some players seem to be trying to get the axe for free. That's understandable because it's a great pickaxe, but it's probably not going to be free via some random promotion.

The star wand was recolored for this scam (Image via Epic Games)

If the axe was coming to the game, there'd likely be some leaks regarding it since it's one shop rotation away, but there haven't been any.

That's not to say it's not coming, but it's almost certainly not going to be free, especially not how these scams would make Fortnite players think.