Fortnite is no longer a video game. It’s a brand awareness platform. Marvel Fortnite is back and as corporate as ever, bringing with it (excellent) Deadpool and Wolverine skins to help promote the new film and a well-timed Doctor Doom seasonal arch just in time for the MCU Doom announcement. There’s also the classic “Fortnite characters cosplaying as Marvel characters” skins available. The entire endeavor is very synergistic, and brand-aligned, and so very cold.
Marvel Fortnite, do what Lego did
Lego did the Fortnite collaboration perfectly. They built a legitimate Lego game inside the Fortnite platform. It is an engaging, robust, and seamlessly integrated video game completely separate from Fortnite’s mechanics and structure. Now, when you purchase a skin in Fortnite, there is a mandatory Lego version that comes with it. Just in case you decide to construct a digital Lego land and want Jonsee or Michaelangelo bumping around in there.
But for some reason, Marvel still have to have their iconic characters running around shooting guns at each other. What gives? Marvel is one of the largest entertainment brands in the world, and yet they have to share the base game of Fortnite. Watching Sakaaran Champion Hulk wield an AK at someone is an affront to the character.
The future of Disney and Fortnite
To be fair, Disney has invested a ton of Zenny in Epic Games, aiming to build an expanded video game universe alongside Fortnite. I have no idea what that is going to be, and I can only imagine Marvel and its pantheon of flawed heroes and villains factor heavily into that. But in the meantime, we still have Cyclops rocking a pistol. Can you imagine how silly you would feel as Scot Summers if you had a built-in laser face and you were forced to use some wonky firearm?