Fortnite's first big update of the year, v7.20, is now available and, as per usual, industrious dataminers have begun to scour the files for details on upcoming additions to the game. This time around, several new items have been located through these datamines, and one of them is a new sword that appears to be headed to the game's battle royale mode.

As shared by Trix Leaks on Twitter, today's Fortnite patch added a number of audio files for a Medieval Sword to the game. This reveal has led some fans to speculate on whether the item will indeed be a new battle royale weapon or if it is simply a pickaxe, and further investigation seems to have offered clarity on this matter.

Specifically, Sr DraBx, a Twitter user dedicated to Fortnite news and leaks, has located asset files for the Medieval Sword, and they indicate that it is "a 'normal' sword, which appears to be a weapon, not a pickaxe." These asset files include the image of the sword above, which has also been shared by Sr DraBx.

Last month, a datamine uncovered another sword that was to be introduced into battle royale — a weapon that ultimately turned out to be the Mythic Infinity Blade. This powerful melee weapon could only be obtained by one player per match, but, despite its scarcity, the Infinity Blade proved to impact battle royale so heavily that Epic had to quickly send it to the Vault.

As such, some players may be wary about Epic adding a new sword to Fortnite. However, the company indicated that it would be "re-evaluating" its approach to Mythic items following the issues spawned by the Infinity Blade, and it stands to reason that Epic would be careful to not introduce yet another overpowered melee weapon so quickly.

That said, players will simply need to wait until official confirmation of the Medieval Sword to know exactly what they are dealing with. In the meantime, there are a number of weapons, including the Legendary Scoped Revolver that came with today's v7.20 update, that may offer a shakeup to Fortnite's established metagame.

Fortnite is available now in early access for Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Twitter - Sr DraBx, Twitter - Trix