I am officially confused by Fortnite's pricing

Eventually Fortnite will be free to play. Buying it now though...

Update: added links for purchasing. Many text corrections. Added details through comments.

So I followed up my interest in Fortnite by searching for prices. I did know it will be free to play eventually and I also saw on the Official Site that a bunch of different versions were available (screenshot above).

Figuring that the official website prices were in US dollars I popped by Amazon.ca to see what my Amazon Prime membership would do for me.

Amazon had exactly one version available:

One single version at $79.99 CAD ($64 with Amazon Prime) which would, if nothing else, make the decision easier.

But the $64 was still a fairly significant commitment for a game I was only considering. Too bad the $39.99 version was only available from the official site. In US dollars.

I decided to check the Microsoft Store just to see if the digital landscape was any different.

Turns out that all the missing versions were on the Microsoft/Xbox Store:

Standard Founder's, Deluxe Founder's, Super Deluxe Founder's, and the $150 Limited Edition.

And better yet, those prices are in CDN dollars. A $39.99 starter pack was available.

Now it seems from the pictures and descriptions that Amazon is selling the Standard version for significantly more than the Microsoft Store. This means that Amazon is out of luck if I do decide to pick up Fortnite. It is possible that it will be straightened out by launch but with only three weeks more to go I am not counting on it.

The difference in versions all seems to be digital content:

The Standard Founder’s Pack includes:

• Game Access
• 4 Exclusive In-Game Banner Icons
• 6 Daily Loot Pinata Packs
• Exclusive Founder’s Loot Pinata Pack

The Deluxe Founder’s Pack includes:

• Game Access
• Rare Starter Hero Pack (8 Heroes)
• Rare Starter Weapon Pack (Includes 4 Weapons/1 Trap)
• Exclusive Founder’s Pistol
• 10 Exclusive In-Game Banner Icons
• 24 Daily Loot Pinata Packs
• 4 Exclusive Founder’s Loot Pinata Pack
• 5 Immediate Loot Pinata Packs
• 10 XP Boosts
• 10 Giftable XP Boosts For Friends
• 50 Extra Vault Inventory Slots

The Super Deluxe Founder’s Pack includes:

• Game Access
• 1 Extra Standard Edition For A Friend ($39.99 Value)
• 2 Exclusive In-Game Defenders
• Rare Starter Hero Pack (8 Heroes)
• Rare Starter Weapon Pack (Includes 4 Weapons/1 Trap)
• Exclusive Founder’s Pistol
• Exclusive Founder’s Chat Channel
• 15 Exclusive In-Game Banner Icons
• 36 Daily Loot Pinata Packs
• 6 Exclusive Founder’s Loot Pinata Packs
• 5 Immediate Loot Pinata Packs
• 20 XP Boosts
• 20 Giftable XP Boosts For Friends
• 100 Extra Vault Inventory Slots

The Limited Edition Founder’s Pack includes:

• Game Access
• 2 Exclusive Legendary Heroes (for your favorite class)
• 1 Exclusive Legendary Weapon
• 2 Extra Standard Editions For Friends ($79.98 Value)
• 2 Exclusive In-Game Defenders
• 10 Extra Backpack Inventory Slots
• Rare Starter Hero Pack (8 Heroes)
• Rare Starter Weapon Pack (Includes 4 Weapons/1 Trap)
• Exclusive Founder’s Pistol
• Exclusive Founder’s Chat Channel
• 20 Exclusive In-Game Banner Icons
• 72 Daily Loot Pinata Packs
• 12 Exclusive Founder’s Loot Pinata Pack
• 15 Immediate Loot Pinata Packs
• 40 XP Boosts
• 40 Giftable XP Boosts For Friends
• 200 Extra Vault Inventory Slots

So, to be fair, I have no idea what most of this is and I might be doing myself a disservice buying only the standard version.

If someone else was planning on purchasing this (or vaguely interested) then the Super Deluxe version would be useful as it comes with an extra standard copy of the game. The $150 Limited Edition comes with two extra standard versions of the game. So there is a group pricing model at work.

If one of you (or two) is interested in picking up Fortnite it might be smarter for one of us to grab the better versions and pass on the extra game copies.

Otherwise, without better knowledge of Fortnite and the values of it's add-ons I except that if I do jump on the Fortnite bandwagon it will be with the $39 starter version.

Let me know your thoughts and/or if you want to team up on the multi-pack versions. I one of you wants to pick up the better version and pass on the extra standard copy I would also be okay with that.