Fortnite developer Epic Games has issued a fresh user survey polling players over its pet-like Sidekicks — and in particular, the need to rebuy each creature to get another version, after your basic design choices are made permanent.
Currently, Fortnite forces fans to lock in their Sidekick's body color, shape and style upon first use, and warns players that their decision cannot be changed again.
For now, just one Sidekick animal is available — banana dog hybrid Peels, which you get two of within Fortnite's current The Simpsons battle pass. Upon first equipping the pooch, you must decide from three banana skin colors (yellow, yellow-green, or mottled), an ear shape (pointy, less pointy, flat) and a body style (slender, or thicc).
After this, each Sidekick also comes with its own mini battle pass of cosmetic add-ons (Peels has an emote where it dances with maracas, and also a couple of shirt options it can wear that can be equipped at will). But the creature's base design choices are indeed no longer changeable, leaving players who want to try other body options seeking a separate Peels incarnation to change from the ground up.
Later this week, on November 7, a selection of additional Sidekicks will be available separately via the Fortnite in-game shop, with upcoming creatures set to include more dog breeds, a dinosaur, and even a Fishstick fish in a bubble. Each will cost either 1,200 or 1,500 V-Bucks (around $10-$14), and each is expected to offer numerous permanent cosmetic options fans will have to buy numerous versions of to own them all.
Amid the backlash to this decision, Epic Games has sent a fresh user survey sent to Fortnite players, including myself, that specifically asks for feedback on Sidekicks' permanent customization mechanic — offering some fans a glimmer of hope that the whole thing is being reconsidered.
"How do you feel about the Sidekicks cosmetic?" asks one question. "Did you know that Sidekicks have basic features that you can only customize once upon claiming that Sidekick (e.g. its color and shape?" asks another. And then:
"How do you feel about having to purchase an additional copy of the same Sidekick if you want to customize your Sidekick with different basic features?" asks a third query, with various options to reply, from "strongly dislike" to "strongly like."
Some fans have suggested Epic Games originally envisaged buying Sidekicks to be like adopting a creature from a pet shop — with a specific design you bond with over time (and as you unlock their battle pass). Others have also said that the pricing here, while steep, is little different to Fortnite's also widely-disliked Kicks (digital shoes), which often cost upwards of 1,000 V-Bucks for licensed designs, and regularly require players to buy multiple copies to access different colors. (Around a dozen near-identical digital pairs of Crocs exist in the game, each of which must be bought separately.)
But others have compared Sidekicks to the highly customizable nature of many character skins — and indeed, the color options available to Fortnite's more-basic Pets, which launched back during the game's earlier years, and can be customized at will.
Certainly, it feels like the widespread response to Sidekicks' design limitations has struck a chord. Far from a fun new cosmetic type — and one that could prove hugely lucrative, when licensed Sidekicks like Grogu and Stitch arrive — launching to positive sentiment, their soft-launch via Peels has only stirred up a backlash, with various reddit threads and social media posts now encouraging other players not to buy more when they do go on sale later this week.
Will Epic Games change course? Time will tell, though answers to that survey (and the sales from this week's shop update) may play a part.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Fans of Yellowstone can now add every season to their physical media collection, as Yellowstone: The Complete Series on Blu-ray is now available to preorder, with a release date coming very soon on November 18. What's even better is it's currently on sale at Amazon, so you can take advantage of a 22% discount that's dropped the price from $132.99 to $104.29 (see it here).
Preorder Yellowstone: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray
This set - which also comes in a collectible slip case that can be seen below - has all 53 episodes of the series alongside tons of bonus features (no joke, there's so many for fans to dig into). Below you can see a breakdown of what special features can be found with each season.
Yellowstone: The Complete Series Blu-Ray Set Bonus Features
Season 1:
Taylor Sheridan & Kevin Costner on YELLOWSTONE
Working The Yellowstone: Production Design
Working The Yellowstone: Special Effects
Cowboy Camp
Character Spots
Season 2:
Only Devils Left – Making YELLOWSTONE: SEASON 2
Working The Yellowstone: Fight Choreography
Yellowstone Tin Type Photography Behind The Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Season 3:
Meaner Than Evil: Making YELLOWSTONE: SEASON 3
Working The Yellowstone: Director Stephan Kay
Working The Yellowstone: SFX Supervisor Garry Elmendorf
Season 4:
Opening Pandora's Box: Making YELLOWSTONE: SEASON 4
Bloodline: Yellowstone Origins
Working The Yellowstone: Making It All Happen
SEASON 4: Back To The Bunkhouse
Season 5, Part 1:
Behind the Story (Episodes 1–8)
Stories from the Bunkhouse (Episodes 1–8)
Undeniable Passion: Beth & Rip / Monica & Kayce
Musical Crosscurrents with Composers Brian Tyler & Breton Vivian
Giving Everything to This Land: Yellowstone Returns
Inside Yellowstone: Season 5
Yellowstone: Inside the Phenomenon
Inside the Real Yellowstone Ranch
Season 5, Part 2:
Redemption: A Season of Change
Moments in Time with Photographer Emerson Miller
The Heartbeat of Yellowstone: Chief Joseph Ranch
Stories from the Bunkhouse
Desire Is All You Need
The Apocalypse of Change
Three Fifty-Three
Counting Coup
Give The World Away
Life Is A Promise; Ranch Retrospective; Wheeler of Misfortune
Physical media collectors have plenty more to check out right now. Our roundup of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays can point you in the direction of what's expected to come out over the next few months. And if you're looking for some good deals on physical media, Black Friday is coming up soon (with some retailers even kicking off their sales early), so now is a great time to keep your eyes peeled for discounts that catch your eye.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass November 2025 Wave 1 lineup of games, headlined by Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
As a Microsoft-owned video game, Black Ops 7 launches straight into Game Pass day one when it comes out on November 14. That’s across cloud, console, and PC for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers only.
But there are a number of games hitting Game Pass before Treyarch and Raven’s first-person shooter arrives. On November 5, Dead Static Drive (Cloud, Console, and PC) arrives on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as another day one release.
As per Xbox Wire, Dead Static Drive is “Grand Theft Cthulhu.” "An indie survival-horror game following a nightmarish road trip across a 1980s Americana, Dead Static Drive blends weird fiction and uncanny Eldritch themes with a spooky unease underlying this small-town life," Microsoft said.
Also on November 5 is Rebellion's Sniper Elite: Resistance (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Premium. Here's the official blurb:
Offering unparalleled sniping mechanics, stealth and tactical third-person combat, Sniper Elite: Resistance turns the attention of the award-winning series towards a hidden war, far from the front lines, deep within the heart of occupied France. Bring a friend – the full campaign can be experienced in co-op.
On November 6, Egging On (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as a day one launch. The day one launches continue with Whiskerwood (PC), also on November 6, for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Moving on, November 7 sees Voidtrain (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) launch across Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Premium. November 11 sees Great God Grove (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) across Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Premium. Also on November 11, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Premium. And, on November 11, Pigeon Simulator (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) is a day one launch on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
November 12 sees Relic Hunters Legend (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Premium. Also on November 12 is the day one release of Winter Burrow (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. And of course, Wave 1 ends with the big one: Black Ops 7 on November 14.
Xbox Game Pass November 2025 Wave 1 lineup:
Dead Static Drive (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 5 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Football Manager 2024 (PC)
Football Manager 2024 Console Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Frostpunk (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Spirittea (Cloud, Console, and PC)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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