Fortnite has unveiled its latest skin as a part of Chapter 2 Season 6 and The Loadout can confirm that no, this is not an April Fool’s prank. We for one are glad that Epic Games hasn’t stooped to baseless pranks and ridiculous tomfoolery, but we are also very excited to see that the latest skin is that guy from the ‘stonks’ meme. You know the one.
The meme shows a mannequin-esque figure with a face that looks like someone tried to photoshop Thomas the Tank Engine’s face onto a generic businessman. Honestly if you haven’t seen this meme there’s no way we can describe it to you – just Google the word stonks and find out for yourself.
The stonks meme – which is an intentional misspelling of the word ‘stocks,’ i.e. the stock market – was created in 2017, but gathered recent traction during the period when redditors rocketed the price of GameStop shares. While Fortnite’s stonksman is named Diamond Hanz (thanks to his imaginative diamond hands), it is clearly a reference to the enduring meme, and has likely been introduced thanks to the GameStop situation.
Diamond Hanz (we’ll always call him stonks man) is now available in the Fortnite store, and costs 1,200 V-Bucks. For that price, you not only receive the wonderful meme skin, but also a stonks arrow back bling. You know, from the meme?
— Egg (@alwaysvibingbro) April 1, 2021
If you’ve got V-Bucks to spend – more than we can contend – then what’s stopping you from memeing your way to a Victory Royale? We expect to see lobbies filled with Hanzes (Hanzi?) in every game from now on – whether it’s a regular match or at the highest level in the biggest esports tournaments.