Aaliyah is the official mascot of Fortnite's Lantern Fest 2026, a recurring in-game celebration tied to Ramadan. The skin features a Middle Eastern-inspired character wearing a teal and gold outfit with dark mechanical gloves, a red geometric belt, gold teardrop headchain and earrings, and a green pendant necklace. She follows last year's Lantern Fest mascots, Anwar and Noorah, and can be unlocked without spending any V-Bucks — if you're good enough.
Quick answer: Play in the Reload Lantern Fest Duos Cup on March 3, 2026, and finish high enough on your region's leaderboard to earn the Aaliyah skin for free. If you miss the cutoff, the skin will hit the Item Shop shortly after for an expected price of around 1,500 V-Bucks.
Reload Lantern Fest Duos Cup — How It Works
The cup is a Duos tournament in the Fortnite Reload mode, open to all regions with no rank requirement. You'll need a partner, so find a reliable duo before March 3rd. Each elimination earns 2 points, and a Victory Royale is worth 60 points. The higher you and your partner place on the regional leaderboard during the cup window, the better your chances of walking away with Aaliyah for free.
Placement thresholds vary by region. You and your duo must finish within these cutoffs to unlock the skin:
| Region | Required Placement |
|---|---|
| EU | Top 2,350 |
| NA Central | Top 900 |
| NA West | Top 400 |
| Brazil | Top 400 |
| Asia | Top 250 |
| Oceania | Top 250 |
| Middle East | Top 250 |
EU has the most generous cutoff at 2,350 slots, while Asia, Oceania, and Middle East are the most competitive with only 250 spots each. If you're on the fence about whether you can place, keep in mind that Reload matches tend to be faster-paced and more chaotic than standard Battle Royale, so consistent eliminations matter more than passive survival.
What If You Don't Place High Enough?
Missing the leaderboard cutoff doesn't lock you out permanently. The Aaliyah skin will appear in the Fortnite Item Shop shortly after the Reload Lantern Fest Cup concludes on March 3rd. The expected price is around 1,500 V-Bucks. Additional Ramadan-themed cosmetics, including a pickaxe and back bling, are also expected to accompany the skin in the shop.
Free Lantern Fest Rewards Before the Cup
Even if competitive play isn't your thing, Lantern Fest 2026 has some smaller free rewards available right now. From February 19th through February 25th, you can complete Reload Quests in the 8-player Reload Teams mode to earn cosmetics:
| Quests Completed | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3 | Bring It Spray |
| 8 | Love the Game Emoticon |
The 8-player Reload Teams mode runs from February 19th all the way through March 18th, though Ranked mode is unavailable during this period. These quest rewards are separate from the Aaliyah skin and don't require any tournament participation.
Tips for the Cup
The scoring system heavily rewards eliminations over placement alone. Each kill nets 2 points while a Victory Royale grants 60, so an aggressive playstyle that racks up eliminations across multiple matches will likely outperform a single win with few kills. Practice Reload matches beforehand to get comfortable with the faster respawn mechanics and smaller map rotations.
Make sure you and your duo partner are on the same page about strategy before the cup starts. Communication and coordinated pushes will be the difference between landing inside the top cutoff and falling just short.
Aaliyah is one of the more striking original skins Fortnite has released in a while, and the free path through the Duos Cup gives competitive players a real incentive to grind on March 3rd. For everyone else, the Item Shop fallback means nobody has to miss out entirely — it'll just cost you some V-Bucks instead of sweat.