Nintendo drops its Switch bundle with Fortnite on Oct. 5

Sure, Fortnite is already free, but it's no more expensive than a regular Switch and you get some V-Bucks.

Gordon Gottsegen CNET contributor

Gordon Gottsegen is a tech writer who has experience working at publications like Wired. He loves testing out new gadgets and complaining about them. He is the ghost of all failed Kickstarters.

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Gordon Gottsegen

Sept. 18, 2018 1:02 p.m. PT

switch-fortnite-e3-2018 — Fortnite being played on the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET

Don't have a Nintendo Switch yet?

Nintendo just announced a new Switch bundle that comes with the smash-hit game Fortnite, arriving on Oct. 5.

It’s a bundle royale! A #NintendoSwitch #Fortnite bundle including special in-game items and 1,000 V-Bucks will make the jump into stores on 10/05. https://t.co/5049PRWbjr pic.twitter.com/qoraUQA5DO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 18, 2018

"Wait a minute," some of you may be thinking, "isn't Fortnite already free to download?" Well, yes. But Nintendo's Switch bundle also includes 1,000 V-Bucks, Fortnite's in-game currency, and the Double Helix set, which consists of a Fortnite character skin, back bling, glider and pickaxe. You also get the console, dock, Joy-Con controllers, wrist straps and Joy-Con grip.

Plus, the bundle costs $300 in the US, which is the same amount you'd pay for a Nintendo Switch console on its own. So you're getting the Fortnite add-ons for free with the bundle.

Fortnite is also one of the few Switch games you can play online without paying for Nintendo's Switch Online service.

If you're not a big Fortnite fan, you can wait for Nintendo's Pokemon Let's Go or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Switch bundles releasing later this year.