You can play the infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter from the "Star Wars" universe, complete with Baby Yoda, in a new season of Fortnite.
The popular battle royale game is replete with Star Wars content in Season 2, Chapter 5, which debuted Wednesday (Dec. 2) along with the new Fortnite Crew subscription service.
The last season was Marvel-themed and the epic season finale Tuesday (Dec. 1) saw Battle Buses flying in space against Galactus, an enemy who devours worlds and who had been approaching the Fortnite island all season. Roughly 15.3 million players, including some of us from Space.com, had fun playing the Death Star run-style spacecraft shootout.
Now it's time to dive into the new season. Just like in "The Mandalorian" Star Wars TV series on Disney Plus, Fortnite players will receive bounties to hunt down non-playable characters — quite the pivot from earlier seasons, where you just battled whomever you came across on the island.
Related: Fortnite's Galactus event was a sci-fi shooter with flying space buses
Players have a choice of subscribing to Fortnite content monthly for $11.99, which might be a good idea for space fans, because the first skin is galaxy-themed. Or, you can buy the basic battle pass for 950 V-Bucks, the Fortnite currency equivalent of roughly $9 USD.
The Mandalorian is the first skin you'll unlock for playing the new season, and then the "Star Wars" content comes fast and furious. By the time you reach Level 8, you'll have a Mandalorian banner, a Star Wars-themed spray, a Mandalorian loading screen, a Baby Yoda emoticon, and a Razor Crest glider.
The rest of the "Star Wars" content will unlock close to Level 100, with a banner at Level 97, another "Star Wars"-themed emoticon at Level 98, The Child (Baby Yoda) at Level 100 and an extra style option for the Mandalorian at Level 100, too. You'll be able to unlock even more style options for the Mandalorian by completing quests and leveling up past 100.
We wouldn't be surprised if more "Star Wars" themed characters join the cast, as Fortnite's website states "the greatest hunters from across realities like the Mandalorian" will take part in "a chaotic battle that will shape the future of the island."
And "Star Wars" is just part of the space content you'll receive in this season's battle pass. The "Reese" skin, which unlocks at Level 15, is described as an "intergalactic beast hunter." A "nebula racer" style option for Reese unlocks at Level 22.
We also spotted the Crimson Wish glider at Level 56, which is linked to this season's Spirit of Vengeance character Kondor, which unlocks at Level 60. Kondor has an astronaut-like look and appears distinct from the Condor character of the Marvel universe, although we may stand corrected as more elements of the new season are revealed.
Yours truly put in a little gameplay time today in solo mode, using V-bucks from the new subscription service and a bulk V-buck purchase to unlock to Level 60. Equipped with the brand-new Galaxia skin, it was time to take on fresh challenges with Fortnite.
The trailer for the season (which you can see just above) shows Fortnite's Agent Jonesy struggling to seal the Zero Point that may rip apart reality on the island if we're not careful. As Jonesy explains to players, numerous fighters are needed to fix the problem. "It cost a lot of credits to convince Mando, but that is the way," he admits.
Fortnite's lobby now has a new "Quests" feature where you need to hunt down certain characters (such as Ruckus), complete bounties for The Mandalorian, and do other miscellaneous tasks that are similar to the weekly challenges of previous seasons. Tasks that popped up for me included discovering named locations, performing shotgun eliminations and collecting bars.
The map has a few new areas on it, with my favorite so far being the moon-like, gray terrain surrounding the Zero Point. The perimeter of the map is mostly the same as last season, with the exception of Stealthy Stronghold (a walled in jungle area). Other new points of interest are Salty Towers, Hunter's Haven, Colossal Colosseum, all surrounding the regolith-like center of the map.
A quick survey of weapons I found shows that it may be easier to pick up higher-grade ones in blue and gold varieties, compared with earlier seasons, but your mileage may vary. Players within my 100-person group weren't too heavy on the "Star Wars" content yet, although inevitably I did see some Mandalorians since it is the first skin of the season. I can't wait to see what adventures await in the coming weeks of Fortnite.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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