Skull Trooper Fortnite Skin and the Purple Style Explained

Skull Trooper is one of the oldest outfits in Fortnite, and the Skull Trooper Fortnite story still shapes how players judge an OG locker. Anyone can buy the skin when it rotates in, but one style, the purple Skull Trooper glow, is locked to the players who owned it first.

That split explains why a skin sold almost every Halloween still carries OG status.

This page explains when Skull Trooper came out, what each style does, why collectors prize the purple version, and how often the outfit returns.

Skull Trooper Fortnite Skin Summary

• Skull Trooper launched in late October 2017 for the first Halloween event, priced at 1,500 V-Bucks.

• It returned on October 10, 2018, with new styles and a female partner, Skull Ranger, in the Skull Squad set.

• The Purple Glow style only went to players who owned the skin before that 2018 return, and nobody can earn it anymore.

• Green Glow and the standard white look are open to every owner, and a Gilded style came later.

• The outfit has returned to the Item Shop dozens of times since, usually around Fortnitemares.

When Did Skull Trooper Come Out in Fortnite?

Skull Trooper came out in late October 2017, as part of the first Halloween event in Fortnite Battle Royale. It cost 1,500 V-Bucks in the Item Shop and sat next to its female counterpart, Ghoul Trooper.

Sources disagree on the exact first shop day, listing either October 26 or October 30, 2017. Battle Royale was barely a month old, so only a small early player base had the chance to buy it.

The outfit then vanished for about a year. Players who missed it had no way to get it until Epic brought it back for Halloween 2018, which is where the style system began.

That first run gives 2017 copies their OG status, though the outfit itself never joined the rarest Fortnite skins, since Epic keeps selling it.

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Skull Trooper Styles, From Green Glow to Purple

The return on October 10, 2018, came with update v6.02 and added selectable styles. Owners could switch the skeleton print between the classic white and a light neon green glow, and players who had bought the skin before the return also got the Purple Glow style.

Owners also got a set of challenges in 2018, and completing them awarded the Ghost Portal back bling for old and new owners alike.

White (Standard)

The classic white skeleton print is the look Skull Trooper launched with in 2017. Every owner has it, whenever they bought the skin.

Green Glow

The light neon green glow arrived with the October 2018 return. It's open to every owner, so it's the second style anyone who buys Skull Trooper today will get.

Purple Glow

Forbes reported at the time that Purple Glow was limited to players who owned Skull Trooper before the October 2018 rerun, with no way to earn it afterward. Every new buyer from that point on got the standard and green options only.

Gilded

A Gilded style for Skull Trooper arrived in a later Fortnitemares. It turns the skull mask and skeleton print gold.

Skull Ranger

The October 2018 update launched the rest of the Skull Squad set: the female Skull Ranger outfit, the Skull Sickle pickaxe, and the Crypt Cruiser glider, each sold for 1,200 V-Bucks. Skull Ranger has her own White, Green Glow and Gilded styles, but no purple version.

Why Collectors Prize the Purple Skull Trooper

Collectors prize the purple Skull Trooper, as nobody can earn it today. It proves an account owned the skin during its first year, which makes it one of the clearest markers of an OG player in the game.

Ghoul Trooper got the same treatment. When she returned for Halloween 2019, players who bought her in 2017 received a Pink style, and new buyers did not. Together, they're the two best-known proof styles among OG Fortnite accounts, and sellers list pink Ghoul Trooper accounts by that style for the same reason.

A purple style changes how collectors judge how much your Fortnite account is worth, since an account without it shows a later purchase. Checking the style menu in the Locker settles it in seconds.

GameBoost lists purple Skull Trooper accounts and OG Skull Trooper accounts for players who want the original style. Read up on buying an account safely before you pick one.

How Often Does Skull Trooper Return?

Skull Trooper returns to the Item Shop often, most of all around Halloween. Shop trackers count dozens of separate runs since October 2017, so the standard skin is far from rare. Some Item Shop skins never get that treatment: Kratos hasn’t been back since March 2021.

Epic usually brings it back for Fortnitemares, often next to Skull Ranger and the rest of the Skull Squad gear. Other Epic originals get Halloween versions too, such as Gummy Fishstick in Fortnitemares 2021. Checking when Fortnitemares starts gives you the likeliest window for the next run.

Returns aren't announced in advance. The official Item Shop page and the daily Item Shop reset time are the only reliable ways to catch it.

Buying it now gets you the white, green, and Gilded looks, never the purple one. Keep V-Bucks ready for October if the standard skin is all you need.

FAQs About Skull Trooper Fortnite Skin

Final Words

Skull Trooper is common and rare at the same time. The outfit shows up most Octobers, yet the one style that counts as proof of age has been frozen since 2018.

That makes the style menu more important than the skin itself. Before trusting any OG claim, look for Purple Glow on Skull Trooper or Pink on Ghoul Trooper.

Expect the standard version back next Halloween, and expect Epic to keep the purple glow exactly where it is.

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