•Patrik Mršnik• 6 min read
Fortnite
Drift Fortnite Skin, Every Stage and Style Explained
Drift was the face of Fortnite Season 5, and the Drift Fortnite skin is still tied to that 2018 season. He was the first reward in the 2018 Battle Pass, a Legendary Drift skin that grew with every match you played.
That progression made him a standout outfit in Fortnite, and it's the reason the original version is so hard to find today. Epic sold several remakes later, but never the Season 5 skin itself.
Below, you'll find how each Drift stage worked, which variants came after, and whether the original can ever come back.
Drift Fortnite Skin Summary
Drift was the Tier 1 reward in the Season 5 Battle Pass, which launched on July 12, 2018.
The skin had six stages, reached at 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 200,000 XP from Drift challenges.
The final stage added glowing effects, and the challenge set also rewarded the Rift Edge pickaxe.
Summer Drift (June 2019, 1,500 V-Bucks) and Driftwalker (October 2021, Graveyard Drift Quest Pack) are separate remakes.
The original Season 5 Drift has not returned to the Item Shop, and Epic's newer return rule only covers Passes from Chapter 5 Season 4 onward.
When Did Drift Come Out in Fortnite?
Drift came out on July 12, 2018, with Season 5. Epic's Season 5 announcement introduced a new Battle Pass with over 100 rewards, and Drift sat at Tier 1, so anyone who bought the pass got him right away.
Epic's post put the season under the Worlds Collide banner, with new areas such as a Viking ship and a desert settlement on the island.
He was a Legendary outfit and the headline skin of that Battle Pass. Season 5 ended in late September 2018, and Pro Game Guides lists September 26, 2018, as the last day the original was available.
Players who skipped that pass have had no way to buy the original since, which puts it in the same group as other exclusive Fortnite skins from Chapter 1.
Drift Stages and the XP Each One Needed
Drift started in his base form and changed as you earned XP through his challenge set. Each stage was a separate style you could switch between in the Locker once earned:
Stage | XP needed |
|---|---|
Base | Battle Pass Tier 1 |
Stage 1 | 10,000 XP |
Stage 2 | 25,000 XP |
Stage 3 | 50,000 XP |
Stage 4 | 100,000 XP |
Stage 5 | 200,000 XP |
Each stage added more layers to the outfit, building up to a full coat. The last one, at 200,000 XP, added glowing accents to the coat, and that version is what most players picture when they think of Drift.
Prima Games notes that the Drift challenges weren't tied to Season Level, and Trusted Reviews reported that unfinished progress carried over past Season 5. Owners who started late could still finish the skin after the season ended.
The same challenge set rewarded the Rift Edge pickaxe, which matched Drift's look.
Drift Variants and Remakes
Epic has reused Drift's design several times, and each remake is a separate outfit.
Business Insider reported that Epic had said Battle Pass outfits stay exclusive to their season. Selling the remakes as separate outfits let Epic keep that promise.
Summer Drift
Summer Drift is a beach version sold in the Item Shop in June 2019 for 1,500 V-Bucks. Owners of the original had to pay for it too, which upset part of the community. The outfit has a second style that adds a shirt.
Driftwalker
Driftwalker is a darker remake from the Graveyard Drift Quest Pack, released on October 19, 2021, during Fortnitemares. His styles include Stealth Driftwalker and Regal Driftwalker.
The pack, a real-money pack, also came with the Broken Fractal Wings back bling, the Corrupted Rift Edges pickaxe, and the Corrupted Tendrils glider. Its quests paid out up to 2,000 V-Bucks.
Is Drift Coming Back to Fortnite?
The original Season 5 Drift isn't expected back. Epic sold it only through the 2018 Battle Pass, and it hasn’t appeared in the Item Shop since, the same fate as Sparkle Specialist from Season 2.
Epic's support page on Pass items says items from Passes starting with Chapter 5 Season 4 may return 18 or more months after the Pass expires. The Unvaulted returns that began on June 28, 2026, started with that season, and older passes, from Season 5 in Chapter 1 to the Chapter 5 Season 1 pass with Peter Griffin, fall outside the rule.
That scarcity keeps Drift on wish lists for OG Fortnite accounts, next to classics like Skull Trooper. Drift accounts and other OG skins are the only route to the original now, so check what your account is worth if you own him. For the remakes, keep V-Bucks ready for the next rotation.
FAQs About Drift Fortnite Skin
Final Words
Drift became one of the best-known progressive Battle Pass skins, and the fully upgraded version shows an account's history in a way no shop purchase can.
The remakes kept his look alive without breaking Epic's promise to Season 5 owners. That promise is why the original matters more now than it did in 2018.
Epic's Unvaulted returns only reach back to Chapter 5 Season 4. Unless that rule expands to Chapter 1, the original Drift stays a Season 5 badge.
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“ A former sports journalist and editor, Patrik joined Gameboost SEO team in 2026. He has spent most of his life playing Football Manager, but his sphere of interests spreads through whole gaming universe.”
