OG Skull Trooper: History, Styles and the Price of the Purple Skull

Skull Trooper is one of the most recognisable skins in Fortnite and the flagship of "OG culture". It landed in the shop for the first time in October 2017, returned in 2018, came back once more in 2023 — and that's it. If an account picked up Skull Trooper in 2017, it owns an exclusive "Purple Skull" style that was never handed out again. That specific variant sells for thousands of dollars on the secondary market.

Timeline — every time Skull Trooper showed up

October 2017

Fortnite had just received Battle Royale mode; the shop was a few weeks old. Epic dropped a Halloween event and for the first time placed Skull Trooper in rotation at 1,500 V-Bucks. The skin stayed in the shop for 5 days and left.

Back in 2017 Fortnite wasn't yet a global hit — the player base was around 20 million. So accounts with a genuine "original batch" Skull Trooper number in the low millions at most. Most of them were lost, abandoned, or sold over the years.

October 2018

The skin came back, but this time Epic quietly tied an alternate "Purple Glow" style to it. That style went only to accounts that bought the skin before October 24, 2018, 23:59 UTC. Everyone else got the regular style.

That makes Purple Skull = an account that bought the skin either in 2017 or during the first three weeks of the 2018 rerun. The population of accounts with that specific marker is measured in tens of thousands worldwide — no more.

October 2023

Epic reintroduced the skin as part of an OG-nostalgia event and shipped Skull Ranger alongside it. But Purple Skull was not handed out to any of the 2023 buyers — only the original holders kept the exclusive.

After 2023 there were no more returns.

Three flavours of Skull Trooper and how to tell them apart

Regular Skull Trooper

Base style: white skull on a black jumpsuit. Bought in 2018 (after October 24) or 2023. The most common variant.

Styles: the regular skin has Black & White, Red, and Blue edits. Three clicks through "Edit Style" in the locker.

Purple Skull (Purple Glow)

Exclusive style — a purple/lilac skull and a bluish glow along the whole outfit. Visible in the style editor as a separate "Purple Glow" option. The only way to own it is to have been on the account in 2017 or early 2018. No retroactive grant exists.

This is the real "OG" people pay premium for.

Skull Ranger

Female version of Skull Trooper, added in 2018 as part of an expanded lineup. Cheaper than Purple, but still considered OG if received before 2023.

2026 price tags for OG Skull Trooper

Prices drift, but the ranges below reflect LZT Market, PlayerAuctions and our own tracker data:

Worth remembering: Purple Skull pricing depends heavily on what else is on the account. A 2017 account with Purple Skull, Renegade Raider, Aerial Assault Trooper and Black Knight is a collectible artefact — that combination starts at $3000.

Verifying Purple Skull authenticity before you buy

Scammers regularly flip a regular Skull Trooper as "OG Purple". Verification steps:

1. min_season attribute. The listing must show a minimum season value. Purple Skull only exists on accounts with min_season = 1 or 2 (Chapter 1, Season 1–2).
2. Style-cycling video. Ask the seller to record a quick clip: enter Locker → select Skull Trooper → cycle styles. "Purple Glow" should appear labelled as its own option.
3. Account creation date. Epic keeps this value. It must be no later than October 2018 (ideally before October 25, 2018). An account created in 2019 or later is definitely not original.
4. Season 1 Battle Pass. If the account owns the Season 1 Battle Pass (only obtainable by playing in 2017), that's an extra authenticity signal.
5. Sign-in history. The checker should show activity in the 2017–2018 window. An account that didn't log in before 2023 can't legitimately own Purple Skull.

Is a regular Skull Trooper still worth buying?

If Purple Skull is out of budget, the regular version is a reasonable choice. Reasoning:

• The rarity still holds. Even the regular Skull Trooper hasn't been in the shop since 2023. Until a next return, the pool of accounts with it isn't growing.
• Recognisability. Halloween is a popular season. Other players clock the skin instantly in any variant.
• Price point. $60–120 for a legitimate OG skin is a fair number for a personal collection.

Where to go after Skull Trooper: the full OG set

If you're in collector mode, Skull Trooper is one of the "four holy items" of the OG inventory:

1. Renegade Raider — Season 1 Battle Pass reward. Never returned. $300–1500+.
2. Aerial Assault Trooper — Season 1 Battle Pass. $250–800.
3. Black Knight — Season 2 Battle Pass Tier 70. $350–1200.
4. Purple Skull Trooper — today's subject. $500–1200.

Accounts with three of the four are rare. All four on one account is museum-grade — $3000 floor.

Skull Trooper FAQ

Can a regular Skull Trooper be "upgraded" to Purple?

No. The Purple Glow style can't be bought — it was handed out strictly by date. If your account doesn't have that style, there's no way to acquire it now.

Will Skull Trooper return to the shop in 2026?

Nobody knows. Epic doesn't pre-announce returns, and even if one happens, Purple Glow stays a 2017/2018 exclusive. "Waiting it out" only works for people who want the regular Skull Trooper.

Is Purple Skull's exclusivity permanent?

In theory yes. But Epic already broke one principle once ("Renegade Raider will never return" → the 2023 Skull Trooper event). If they revisit policy, the price could drop. That said, Purple Glow is tied to a specific 2017/2018 date — bringing it back without rewriting server history isn't trivial.

If I'm buying a Purple Skull account, what should I check first?

Log in → Locker → Skull Trooper → cycle styles. Confirm "Purple Glow" is present as a selectable option. Record video proof. Only then change the password.

Read next: "How to Buy a Fortnite Account Safely in 2026".