Fortnite is basically a giant and endless advertisement now

Last year, playing Fortnite This meant largely jumping on an imaginary island in the hope of surviving against 99 other players. This year, Fortnite is not as divorced as the real world – there are constant connections that encourage people to buy, or at least engage with brands and products. To play Fortnite in 2019 must be mixed with advertisements.

From the beginning, cross-promotion was felt as an extension of Fortnite Culture. As Fortnite Having exploded, his in-game dances began to appear all over the world, eventually becoming a staple of post-game celebrations in many sports. When the developer, Epic Games, introduced the soccer skins and interactive grounds to celebrate the 2018 World Cup, the connection between the two seemed natural: Fortnite is sports. Curiously, this brand integration eventually became an important part of Fortnite Culture, as nowadays "the skins of football" are known to be too serious players who try to win at all costs. Cosmetics, which are customizable, are highly desired among Fortnite community, players often begging skins to return to the store. The skin clash in the NFL, which took place in the fall of 2018, was not as influential in Fortnite day-to-day culture, but the outing was popular all the same.

2018 also saw the release of Fortnite The Avengers crossover, where players could collect Infinity Stones and become Thanos. The collaboration may seem unusual, until you think it's two of the biggest entertainment properties on the planet that come together. Yes Fortnite will collaborate with something, the only behemoth that gets closer to his cultural penetration is Marvel. It's also good that video game fans love superheroes.

Epic Games

Large collaborations of this type in video games are quite common – from Ariana Grande to DC's Suicide Squad, digital promotions have been promoted in space. Fortnite The initial integration was different in part because of its breadth – football, football and Marvel are huge entertainment properties for the general public – and because the ties that united them seemed organic. Fortnite own cultural impact.

In 2019, Fortnite ads have become more experimental – and more frequent. In February, Fortnite organized a pre-recorded Marshmello concert, where players could dress and pretend to be the electronic musician. The event was a separate game mode in which the players could not get hurt and the arena came alive with special effects, such as a change in the seriousness of the game. 10.7 million players attended the concert. Marshmello, and millions of others have followed the program through platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. The show was a success because Marshmello felt already mixed up with Fortnite culture because the musician had already participated in theater matches with other celebrities and his songs were well received by Fortnite stars such as Ninja.

So what Fortnite introduced the same month an island on the theme of Weezer, where fans could turn on a jukebox that only broadcast tracks Weezer. I'm not sure anyone understood why this promotion took place, aside from Rivers Cuomo who occasionally tweeted about the game. It should be noted, however, that only a few weeks elapsed between the Marshmello event and the promotion. Weezer, while he was spending months between football and football announcements. This has been a defining feature of Fortnite in 2019: Much of the new content is linked to real-world brands and their frequency is increasing.

Epic Games

Between the musical collaborations, the skins of the NFL and football came back to the Fortnite the shop. The link between Marvel also returned in April to promote the release of End of Gamealthough this time, players can wear the Avengers' classic weapons, such as the Captain America Shield.

In May, Fortnite began teasing the inclusion of John Wick, who finally got a mode allowing players to become bounty hunters. The promotion was a success, largely because John Wick already felt like part of the Fortnite universe – in season 3, the royal battle game got a skin that seemed strongly based on the character of Keanu Reeves. Despite this synergy, the inclusion of an official John Wick skin has made things more difficult for fans who have already put in time and resources to own the first skin. There is also the fact that a game loved by kids is promoting an extremely violent R-rated movie. At the same time, integration also reflects the amount of Fortnite exploded. Previously, the game had to be winked and winked at other entertainment venues, but it's now big enough to officially incorporate them.

As soon as John Wick's promotion was over, another brand collaboration was needed: Jumpman. At the moment, you can buy Jordan sneakers and get started in a new limited-time mode called Downtown Drop. The players hit the slopes, like Sonic-le-Hérisson, to collect coins. This link is remarkable, this is the first time that Epic has teamed up with community creators, Tollmolia and Notnellaf, to develop branded and high-profile content.

"The epic games brought me to their headquarters in Cary, North Carolina," Polygon told Notnellaf. "It was an incredible opportunity."

Epic Games

Curiously, when you load in the mode selection screen, Fortnite note only that the LTM was created by the Jordan brand. It is unclear whether Epic paid the creators of the community to help them develop this content. The two creators refused to elaborate on this detail when asked to comment. Earlier this month, Notnellaf tweeted that he went to Epic Games to "secure the bag" which is usually slang for getting money. Although credit seems rare, savvy players can still enter the creator code of Tollmolia and Notnellaf when buying content to get a transaction percentage. And both creators can now say on their resume that they have worked with Fortnite and Nike – which, for a 16 year old kid like Tollmolia, is great.

The jordan x Fortnite the situation is a reflection of where Fortnite We are at 2019. Although Epic Games develops much of the main content of the game, it also depends a lot on the community to keep things fresh. Fans can use the creative mode to develop their own mini-games and map segments that can be included in the actual game, although Epic does not pay players directly. Most of this content has been a boon for FortniteHowever, in the case of Downtown Drop, the reception was mixed. Personally, I found the mode difficult to use because of an offset that made the platform difficult. And Jordan shoes, although stylish, are not very visible in the game – you can not really see the feet of a character. Fortnite has strengthened its links with the brand, but the frequency of these publications makes it difficult to promote each promotion. Again, it is foolish to complain about the creation of two members of the community, even if it bears the seal of Jordan.

Advertisements are, of course, part of life, though we can often move away, fast forward or pay to ignore them. And it's hard to blame Fortnite, a free game, to find new ways to monetize. Yet I have never played a game that was trying to sell me something almost as often as Fortnite whether it is an object, a mode or a reminder of a real product. It's hard to ignore these inclusions because it's often the most exciting new content that's attracting interest, as the seasons set in and the net of news Fortnite– specific elements or mechanics slows down. And as the Royal Battle segment of the game continues to make questionable decisions regarding balance, the main reasons to start Fortnite have recently been these interactive ads, or brand name skins to add to my collection. In 2019, Fortnite is not just a royal battle game with building mechanisms: it's also one of the most popular and effective ways to promote a product.