Epic Games launched a pair of timed weekend events known as Treasure Hours on Saturday, giving Fortnite players temporary perks and new firepower amid an intense community frenzy over an ultra-rare in-game item.
The two-hour windows ran Saturday afternoon and evening in Eastern time, bringing an A$AP Rocky collaboration rocket launcher, increased Fortune Sprite appearances, and an immediate Self-Revive device to matches, according to reports by The Times of India and VICE.
Boosted odds and contradictory reports
The events generated massive attention primarily because of the Pirate Shop Token, a coveted item introduced on Nov. 1 during Fortnite’s “Treasure Hunters” update. When discovered in chests, the token gives an entire squad two separate 14-day windows—one in 2026 and one in 2027—to claim almost any cosmetic skin or accessory from the Fortnite item shop without spending money, gaming site Aftermath reported.
News outlets differed on whether Epic directly modified the odds of uncovering the prized token during Saturday’s sessions. The Times of India reported that Epic did not confirm direct buffs to token drops, explaining that higher Fortune Sprite spawn rates merely gave players an indirect advantage by pinpointing nearby chests faster.
Conversely, VICE reported that Epic confirmed boosted drop rates for the event. According to VICE, the afternoon session increased token odds by 1.5 times to approximately 1 in 91,667 chests, while the evening session doubled normal rates to 1 in 68,750 per chest. VICE also reported that a Weekly Gold Outfit received up to a ten-fold spawn boost during the nighttime window, settling at a 1 in 156,250 chance per chest.
“This is just like any of the chests in Battle Royale, so every player has an equal opportunity to find Pirate Shop Access,” Epic stated on social media, warning players that external tools or account sales were fraudulent.
Token mania and underground sales
The hunt for the prize triggered an 80 percent surge in player numbers on launch day, according to tracker Fortnite GG as cited by Aftermath. However, the extreme scarcity also spurred aggressive secondary-market activity and rampant misinformation across social platforms.
Before Epic moved to intervene, listings for accounts containing the token appeared on eBay for prices ranging between $9,000 and $10,000, IGN reported. Scammers also began charging players money to form squads or peddling fake tracker devices that claimed to point players straight toward the token’s location, Aftermath noted.
Critics pointed out that despite the absence of traditional loot boxes, the mechanic relies on similar lottery-style appeal without requiring published drop rates. Epic raised V-Bucks pricing in March and enacted layoffs after experiencing reduced engagement earlier in the year, Aftermath reported.
What lies ahead for Chapter 7
Epic indicated that Saturday’s format could become a regular occurrence, with future weekend sessions likely to introduce fresh themes, The Times of India reported.
Meanwhile, the Chapter 7 mini season continues with weekly “Captain’s Days” scheduled on Sundays at 9 a.m. EST, according to Polygon. Those updates introduce new island captains, map fragments, and additional items without the temporary odds modifiers featured during Treasure Hours. Epic plans to conclude the current season with a live finale event on Dec. 5.
