Here’s something I never imagined I’d say, and yet it’s the God’s honest truth: Fortnite currently offers up the coolest Marvel game I’ve ever been able to play in my lifetime, and I think things are only going to improve from here.
Cards on the table: I’m a 50-year-old father of two boys. Currently, they are 16 and 20, so the game is mostly in their rear-view mirrors. Fortnite, to me, is something I occasionally tried to play with them, but immediately got smoked (sorry, knocked). Basically, I quit on Fortnite because I couldn’t figure out how to build, how to snipe, or how to dance on an opponent after you killed them. It was way more frustrating than fun.
Back in February, however, The Walt Disney Company acquired an equity stake in Epic Games, the studio behind the open-world Fortnite competition. The collaboration has taken hold over the course of 2024, with various Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters being added to the game as “skins” that users can wear in various modes (be it Battle Royale, Lego, etc). But the most recent campaign in Fortnite made me realize how brilliant this partnership can be for both Disney and Epic – as well as the powerhouse brands of Marvel, Pixar, Avatar and Star Wars – moving forward.
Finally understanding the lure of the game
There was a running joke in our family about V-bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency. I’d chastise my teenagers for spending any of their hard-earned money on the digital coin, believing they were flushing actual cash away and having nothing to show for it. What did it matter if your character in Fortnite looked like the Default skin, or The Weeknd? You were still playing the same game.
Then, a few months back, Marvel character skins started showing up in the game’s shop with some frequency. The Marvel Series has been a part of Fortnite for a while, but my casual observation made it clear that Marvel characters and modes were being added to the shop every other day. It was definitely intentional. When Deadpool and Wolverine opened in theaters this summer, for example, you could purchase playable skins for both characters. So, I began playing more frequently. I learned more about Battle Passes, Daily Quests, and Story Missions.
And I bought my first Marvel skin: Daredevil.
I finally understood. It was cooler to play the game as a character you adored, and for me, I’m obsessed with the Marvel universe. Missions felt more personal when I played as Daredevil. Gradually, I added other Marvel characters to my arsenal, trying my hardest to earn V-bucks through missions, and not spend money. That’s how they get you! I earned Captain America. I earned Magneto through a recent campaign. But it was only when Chapter 5 of Season 4 began that I realized the potential of marketing that was happening in Fortnite, and I appreciated the game all the more.
Absolute Doom
The current story campaign in Fortnite’s Battle Royale heavily involves Doctor Doom. Locations have been added to the game’s map (as often happens when a new Chapter begins). They include Doom’s Castle, and Doomstadt – where you fight against the popular Spider-Man villain Mysterio. You can visit The Raft, a high-tech prison from the Marvel comics, and defeat Emma Frost.
And without even realizing it, you are getting a crash course in characters who expect to be VERY important in upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows. Did you love X-Men ‘97? Play as some of the characters from that show. Are you pumped for Sam WIlson (Anthony Mackie) to make his debut as Captain America? He’s also in the game.
After Jonathan Majors doomed his professional career (no pun intended), Marvel Studios needed to pivot away from the character of Kang the Conqueror, and still maintain the emphasis of Phases 6 and beyond. The studio’s solution? Bring Robert Downey Jr. back, and have him play Doctor Doom. At San Diego Comic Con this past summer, Kevin Feige revealed that Avengers 5 would change from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday. And RDJ revealed that he’d play the seminal villain.
Fortuitously, global Fortnite players were learning more about Doom, his backstory, his powers, his weaknesses… all as part of the current season of Fortnite. It was a brilliant stroke of corporate synergy. And from the looks of things, it can be the beginning.
From X-Men to Pixar and back to Star Wars
Fortnite has been used as a launch pad for all sorts of promotions, be it a Taylor Swift video to the presence of Metallica as playable characters. It’s no surprise that the entertainment industry wants to get its hands on the massive audience that comes with Epic Games and its open-world creation. The introduction of Absolute Doom, though, made me realize how these entities can work hand-in-hand to strengthen the understanding and appreciation for stories that Walt Disney is putting out in theaters, or on streaming.
Just this past week, The Incredibles were added to the Fortnite shop. How much do you want to bet, when we get close to the release of Toy Story 5, that the Fortnite map will receive a land that looks like Andy’s bedroom, or Al’s Toy Barn? What about when Lucasfilm ramps up the launch of The Mandalorian and Grogu? Those two happen to be playable figures right now, but if there’s an entire chapter that drops players into Star Wars locations, the hype for that movie could increase ten-fold.
Hell, there are teases in the current Absolute Doom chapter that are hinting at the arrival of The Fantastic Four, as well as Galactus. That’s absolutely raising awareness for Marvel’s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps. That movie arrives in theaters in 2025, and Galactus is the main villain.
Given the investment that Walt Disney made in Epic Games, and the early success of this creative partnership in the current season of Fortnite, and I can only imagine the plethora of team ups that can strengthen each brand, while also being as rewarding a game as I have ever seen as a life-long Marvel fan. Keep it coming, Epic Games. I’m thrilled to see where you take these characters and stories next.
