Epic Games is desperate for a Fortnite x Nintendo crossover
The next big Fortnite crossover could be on the horizon, with Epic Games confirming it's actively trying to get the rights to Nintendo's beloved franchises.
11th Dec 2023 15:52
Epic Games | Nintendo
Epic Games is desperate for a Fortnite x Nintendo crossover
The next big Fortnite crossover could be on the horizon, with Epic Games confirming it's actively trying to get the rights to Nintendo's beloved franchises.
11th Dec 2023 15:52
Epic Games | Nintendo
There's one 'Link' still missing from the chain, as Epic Games is trying to get a Fortnite x Nintendo crossover off the ground. The battle royale favourite has had its pick of the gaming greats, with everything from the PlayStation-exclusive God of War to Xbox-exclusive Halo jumping off the battle bus.
With Fortnite being a game in itself, it makes sense that it's become a playground for other IPs - serving like something of a Smash Bros. of all your favourites. Still, there's one gaming powerhouse that's proving just too elusive to nab.
Epic really wants a Fortnite x Nintendo collab
Nintendo is known for keeping the keys to the Mushroom Kingdom locked up tight, leaving Fortnite out in the cold of Freezy Flake Galaxy. That won't stop Epic Games from trying to power up a crossover for the ages, with the team working hard to bring Nintendo over to its side.
Epic's Head of Fortnite's Ecosystem, Saxs Persson, told Axios how it's tried to convince Nintendo a partnership could be lucrative for both sides. When asked how hard it's tried to "woo" Nintendo, Persson explained, "I don't know what the word for, like, making diamonds is."
He continued, "Nintendo has their strategy and we have our strategy, and we hope at some point [to use their characters, because] our players would love it." Remember, it wasn't that long ago we were all buzzing about a leaked Samus skin in Fortnite.
Given Fortnite's success in the field of microtransactions, you can only imagine what a Zelda or Mario skin pack would bring in. Nintendo seems mad to miss the opportunity, but there's a potential reason why.
Mario doesn't do guns
Due to the family-friendly face of Nintendo, the idea of Mario running around the map with a Thunder Burst SMG might seem unlikely. It's true that he has technically been given a gun before (in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle), but that was on Nintendo's terms.
The House that Mario built is notoriously protective over its IPs, so handing over beloved characters like Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong to someone else would take a lot of trust. Obviously, if we're going into Nintendo collabs, we need to talk about the Pokeverse.
Arguably eclipsing the rest of Nintendo's franchise, the potential of a Pokemon collab is mind-boggling. The problem is, Pokemon is such a big pull, it would likely need its own spin-off akin to the recent LEGO Fortnite to work. Ultimately, Pokemon seems just too outside the realms of possibility to join forces with Fortnite.
Persson hopes that Fortnite's new age restrictions will help smooth over Nintendo's implied concerns, but for the time being, a Fortnite x Nintendo crossover is a bit like those mythical LEGO Zelda sets - tantalisingly close, but just out of reach.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
