Summary
Build: UEFN / Fortnite 42.40 (++Fortnite+Release-42.40-CL-59343437), Windows, PC.
What happens
The local player’s whole character (outfit) turns gold/yellow and pulses on a ~0.5 s cycle.
It stays that way for the rest of the Fortnite client session, through respawns, rounds and pushes, until Fortnite is restarted.
It shows in the lobby, in game and in Create mode. It also shows in an Unlit capture, so it is on the character’s material, not lighting or post-process.
NPCs and other characters never glow, only real players.
It doesn’t happen every session. Some launches stay clean the whole time.
When it starts (from client logs and recordings)
It always starts around a respawn of the player by Fortnite itself:
a fresh client joining an edit session (which spawns the player), or
a push / game reset while the player is eliminated and spectating.
Client log around the onset (log times are UTC):
AFortPlayerControllerAthena::FadeOutCameraForRespawn
then GameplayCue.Athena.Rez.In.CreativeRespawn
about 5 s later, GameplayCue.Athena.RemovePawnHighlight, deferred until /FortFirstPersonMode/GameplayCueNotify/GCN_RemoveHighlightFP loads
Example: 2026-11-09, fresh join at 15:06:07 UTC → respawn 15:06:10 → rez-in 15:06:11 → RemovePawnHighlight 15:06:16. The player was gold from then on.
The same cue pair also appears in sessions that stay clean (and on a Battle Royale map), so the cues alone don’t explain it. It looks like the respawn/rez-in highlight sometimes isn’t cleared and stays on the player’s outfit material.
Respawning the player from Verse (agent.Respawn) at round end did NOT cause it: 6 of 6 clean on video in one session.
What we ruled out
Island content: we removed devices in halves and it still happened. It also reproduces on an empty test map.
Island Settings: Spawn Immunity Time (it glowed with both 0 and the default 15), Custom Inventory, matchmaking.
Day/night modifier / lighting (it shows in an Unlit capture).
Our Verse code: it happens before any game starts.
Workaround: restart Fortnite.
Please select what you are reporting on:
Unreal Editor for Fortnite
What Type of Bug are you experiencing?
Character
Steps to Reproduce
Steps to reproduce (intermittent: on 2026-11-09 roughly 3 of 8 fresh launches went gold at join, and it also started twice after a game reset while spectating)
Open a third-person UEFN island in 42.40. It also reproduces on an empty test map with default Island Settings.
Close Fortnite, then Launch Session from UEFN so a fresh Fortnite client starts and joins the edit session.
When the player spawns in, look at your own character for 10–20 s.
If it’s clean: Start Game, get eliminated with a Spawn Limit of 1 so you go into spectating, then Push Changes (or End Game) while you are still spectating.
Look at your character after Fortnite respawns you.
Expected Result
Expected result: the character looks normal after spawning or respawning. Any respawn highlight/rez-in effect fades out after a few seconds.
Observed Result
Observed result: the whole character turns gold/yellow and pulses (~0.5 s cycle) and stays that way for the rest of the Fortnite session, through later respawns, rounds and pushes. Only restarting Fortnite clears it. Other characters and NPCs are unaffected.
Platform(s)
PC Windows
Island Code
unpublished map no code
