Crossovers are such an integral and successful part of the Fortnite formula that you might assume teaming up with the biggest IPs in the world was always the plan. Not only was that not the case, but Epic’s bosses had to be begged, to begin with, to even consider putting non-Fortnite characters in Fortnite.
“We are not interested in putting outside characters into Fortnite.” That is what someone from Epic told Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, when they approached the studio about putting Marvel characters in the game. Let that sink in for a second. As we were approaching the release of Infinity War, the biggest movie in recent history, Marvel asked Epic could be in Fortnite, and Epic replied with a flat “no”.
Again, this was at a time before Fortnite was the unstoppable juggernaut that it is today. Its exponential growth had begun, but the crossovers that have made it a global phenomenon hadn’t even started.
Also surprising, but not quite as surprising as Epic not wanting crossover characters in Fortnite, was the specific Marvel character that changed everything – Thanos. Pete Wanat, who works with the Russo brothers at their production company AGBO, told The Game Business that a six-hour phone call between Epic’s Donal Mustard and the Endgame directors got the ball rolling and changed everything.
Epic Didn’t Want Crossover Characters In Fortnite Until Thanos
It Was Inevitable
Marvel and the Russos were told Epic had no interest in putting Marvel characters in Fortnite. However, the directors were given what was supposed to be 30 minutes to try and talk Mustard around. That phone call wound up lasting almost six hours, and by the end of it, Epic’s bosses had been convinced to give Fortnite crossover content a try.
The rest, as they say, is history. In 2018, Thanos descended onto Fortnite’s island to be the centerpiece of Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet LTM, a game mode I still believe was Fortnite’s best, and one I continue to hope will return one day. Your goal was to be the only player to find the Infinity Gauntlet and then use its incredible power to try and wipe out everyone on the map. Other iconic MCU weapons, including Captain America’s shield and Iron Man’s repulsors, were dotted around the map for other players to give them a helping hand in taking down the Mad Titan.
Seven years later, just about every major IP you can think of has crossed over with Fortnite. Not just characters from movies and other video games, but singers, athletes, and actors too. Fortnite is the crossover game with just about everyone wanting to work with Epic to get their likenesses or creations in the game. Well, everyone other Nintendo. Pretty much the only domino left standing, and all because Nintendo wanted Samus to only appear in the Switch version of Fortnite.
Fortnite
- Released
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September 26, 2017
- ESRB
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T for Teen – Violence
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5