The Batman and Fortnite: A new dynamic duo?
Holy gaming, Batman!
Leaks from the Fortnite video game community have revealed a possible surprise Batman collaboration, and made one Twitter user one of the most trafficked accounts on social media for those who follow the popular video game.
Twitter user, Lucas7yoshi , is claiming to have Batman related images that will soon be available for Fortnite player previewing a top-secret pairing between game maker Epic Games and the iconic DC Comics character.
“Crossover events like this are incited by the people collaborating with Epic, and I doubt Epic is the one reaching out to companies to do crossovers,” Lucas Yoshi, the person behind the Twitter account, told FOX Business, “This is most likely fueled by the success of other crossover events with other companies.”
But joining with Batman, which remains one of the most popular comic book titles, could benefit both parties. While total comic book sales were "below average" in 2018 according to Comic Book Resources, Batman remained one of the top sellers.
And Epic Games may need a bit of a boost. In June, Superdata reported that Fortniterevenues were down 38 percent year over year. Still, for May 2019 Fortnite made $203 million and it remains a powerhouse in gaming. In 2018 the game was played by more than 200 million players worldwide and made $2.4 billion.
When reached out for comment by FOX Business about the crossover, Epic Games declined to talk about the once-secret collaboration while DC Comics parent company Warner Bros. did not reply.
On Twitter, however, fans of the comic book legend and the video game,, which is played online and includes an option for up to 100 people to fight until the last player is left standing, responded in major fashion with Yoshi garnering 2,987 "likes" and 223 re-Tweets of the images.
“I find the images from the files or generate images based on game files that show off stuff about things in the files,” Yoshi explained on the origin of his leaked Batman images with a touch of irony, “I mostly leak things from the game, don't really play it. I think events crossing over brands is always interesting.”
The items leaked include a Batman Banner for player profiles, an Explosive Batarang as well as a Batman grapple gun.
According to tech website Engadget, the success of Fortnite, which makes money through in-game sales and subscriptions rather than the sale of cartridges or disks, has helped build Epic into a massive company with an estimated net worth of about $15 billion dollars.
There is no known release date for the Batman-related items. However, the Epic Games store is expected to be updated on Sept. 19th, which is when many fans expect the Batman crossover to go live, according to Comicbook.com.
Epic has seen success in partnering with well-known brands before. In 2018, it teamed up with the NFL on a collaboration that featured NFL team outfits available in the Fortnite game shop. The NFL offerings included customizable jersey numbers for male and female characters.
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For Batman, the Epic Games Store shows a wide range of Batman games which may or may not be available for users soon.
Yoshi believes the addition of a superhero will keep Fortnite super-powered. “I'd say Fortnite has been at a pretty consistent interest for a couple months or a year maybe now. “
