Toys based upon the phenomenally popular online game will be available to buy ready for Christmas. 

Shoppers across the UK are preparing for Fortnite toys to hit the shelves this weekend, as retailers predict a swell of sales as parents rush to secure the toys for gifting this Christmas.

Fortnite, a popular strategy survival game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows and Mac, combines resource collecting and building with team based survival shooting games. It saw its popularity go up a few notches when its free-to-play Battle Royale platform launched; up to 100 players are pitted against each other in this mode while a mysterious cloud steadily reduces the size of the war zone, creating knife edge and climatic gun fights.

Retailers will be making Fortnite toys available to shoppers at the weekend, with some stores having stocked shelves over the past few days. One shopper posted on the online bargain site Hotukdeals about the figures, saying he saw them in his local Asda after they were put on the shelves a week early.

Meanwhile, Smyth’s Toys is dubbing itself ‘the home of everything Fortnite, from video games, and v-bucks to Pop! Vinyl and action figures.’ To celebrate the launch of the toys, six Smyths stores will be opening at one minute past midnight on Saturday 1st December, giving enthusiastic shoppers and fans of the game a chance to bag their toys before anyone else. Stores at Staples Corner, Tamworth, Glasgow, Charlton, Cardiff and Leeds Crown Point will all be holding early opening events.

The first 100 people registered to attend will receive a free mini Llama plush and exclusive Funko shopper bag on the night. To register, or to find out more, click here.