The new Fortnite vehicle is a dang hamster ball

In a Reddit AMA held late last month, some folks from Fortnite developer Epic Games teased a new "single-occupancy vehicle" for the game's Battle Royale mode. It turns out that vehicle is a giant hamster ball, as YouTuber @OMGitsAliA recently discovered and Epic worldwide creative director Donald Mustard confirmed.  

According to a preview image dug up by Twitter user @lucas7yoshi_, the new vehicle is appropriately called a Fortnite Baller. Judging from the hardware on the thing, it looks like you can drive The Baller around like a normal vehicle or use the Grabber - a grappling hook-like device which was wieldable before it was vaulted several months back - on the front of it to swing around. At least, I hope that's what it's for. But I have to wonder, can you also use it to pull other vehicles or people toward you for easy splatter kills? My kingdom for a limited-time mode with dozens of these things just swinging each other around. Overwatch's Wrecking Ball - better known as Hammond the hamster - would be proud.

Epic previously said that, depending on how Fortnite's Driftboards play with the Baller, they may be removed to make room for the hamster-mobile. They're both solo vehicles so I wouldn't be surprised to see Driftboards pushed out of the main mode, but god I hope we can get both of these things in a game at once, if only so people can balance a Driftboard atop a Baller and inevitably land a miracle headshot while doing so. 

Here's everything you need to know about Fortnite Season 8.  

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.