The Rarest Fortnite Emotes

Most of the time, emotes and other cosmetic items return to the Fortnite item shop time and again, allowing players who missed it the first time around to grab them while they can. Occasionally, however, some items show up a few times a year and then disappear, never to be seen again.

There may be a controversy attached to the emote, a problem regarding licensing, or the developers just plain forgot about its existence. Whatever the cause of its disappearance, those emotes become some of the rarest items in a player's inventory. Some cosmetics are rare because they are Battle Pass exclusives, while others appear in the Item Shop one day, only to disappear, never to be seen again.

Updated March 26th by Rowan Jones to include the latest list of rare emotes in Fortnite to date.

35 Pac-Brained

Part of the Gaming Legends series, this Pac-Man emote was first added to the Item Shop in 2022 and was last seen in 2023, but perhaps due to the limits of the licensing, it hasn't been added back.

Pac-Man is a classic arcade game with millions of fans worldwide, so bringing this emote back wouldn't be a terrible idea.

34 Update Journal

To promote and celebrate the release of Uncharted starring Tom Holland, we were treated to a skin of Nathan Drake in a bundle of Uncharted-themed cosmetics. The skin gives you the option of using either the game version of Drake, or the movie version.

The emote, Update Journal, is fine if you love the movie, but for other Fortnite players, there just doesn't seem a need for a journal-scribbling emote.

33 It's Good!

One for sports fans, this emote is an American football-inspired celebration, perhaps for when your teammate makes a great shot.

Although this emote was released a few times between 2020 and 2023, it hasn't returned since, not even for the Superbowl. It wasn't the most successful emote introduced, but it might return one day.

32 Penalty

When you need to give another player a warning, the yellow penalty card is the perfect way to do it. This emote arrived in the store during Chapter 2 Season 4, but hasn't been seen since 2023.

This emote might show up again when the next World Cup occurs, but until then, it is considered one of the most rare emotes in Fortnite right now.

31 Viking War Cry

Eivor Varinsdotter, from Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, brought this in-built emote to the game, but because of its exclusivity to the skin, it is pretty rare. Unless you are a huge Assassin's Creed fan, you won't even know this emote exists.

The exclusive nature of the emote is a shame because it is a pretty intimidating emote to play at enemies, just like the Vikings wanted! This emote hasn't been seen in the shop since February 2023, so who knows, maybe it will return?

30 Assassin's Strike

This is one of the most expensive emotes in the game, as it is only available as a built-in emote with the Ezio Auditore skin. Ezio, if you weren't aware, is the main character in a few Assassin's Creed games.

It is a surprise that this emote isn't considered rarer, as not many players would buy the skin just to be able to use this simple emote. Ezio was just a little more popular than his female counterpart Eivor Varinsdotter, from Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

29 Snow Day

Like a lot of seasonal emotes, it seems like Snow Day has been forgotten, and left behind in the vaults. The last time it was seen was in Winterfest 2022, so it is due a re-release!

this emote is adorable and a little sad, as your character builds a snow friend, only to watch as it crumbles and falls apart. If you have this in your inventory, don't forget to show it some love every December.

28 Knife Tricks

Knife Tricks is a suitably intimidating emote that was released as part of the Delta-One set, celebrating Gears Of War. The set included Marcus Fenix and Kait Diaz, along with a bunch of cool game-related items.

If Gears Of War has a resurgence in popularity or is remastered in some way, this set may return, but until then, it looks like this emote will remain a rare find.

27 Rambunctious

There is no reason for Rambunctious to be so unpopular, but here we are. This energetic and timeless classic in the ever-growing list of Fortnite emotes was once the rarest emote in the game until it was re-added to the Item Shop after 1486 days.

Now it is still considered rare, just not quite as rare as it once was. If you see it return to the Item Shop, grab it before it quickly disappears again.

26 Tidy

You may recognize Tidy as Snoop Dogg's iconic moves from his track Drop It Like It's Hot. After it was introduced to the Item Shop in April 2018, it returned 1455 days later, only to then disappear ever since.

It was a very popular choice when it was brought back to the shop, but you might not see it much anymore. Not until they bring it back to the Item Shop once again, of course. Part of the track and movements were also added to the Dogghouse Sleigh emote added during December 2024.