Fortnite is preparing to overhaul its "Sidekicks" feature, the small companion pets and characters that follow players around, turning them from a purely cosmetic addition into an active gameplay element. A new trailer for the upcoming "Cuddles and Chaos Collection" update strongly evokes Pokémon and Pokémon Go, suggesting Epic Games wants to push its battle royale giant into the creature-collecting and monster-battling genre that games like Pokémon and Palworld have popularised.

The update launches on 23 July, alongside new player-made islands built using Unreal Editor for Fortnite tools that let developers turn Sidekicks into scriptable non-player characters for genres such as monster battlers, farming games and creature-collection RPGs. Epic has been deliberately vague on details, but a trailer featuring streamer and conservationist Maya Higa shows a pet-based battle between players, and recent in-game surveys have asked users about their experience with Palworld. Despite Fortnite's recent player surge, driven partly by Pokémon-inspired collectible sprites, the article notes Epic's mixed record sustaining interest in non-Battle Royale modes, with the Roblox-inspired "Steal the Brainrot" currently its biggest hit outside the core game.