A new Borderlands collaboration came to Fortnite today, introducing a Borderlands-themed skin, weapons, and Back Bling to the game, along with a unique zone in the Battle Royale map. The Fortnite Borderlands collaboration is just one of several to come to the game since the 2018 Fortnite Thanos crossover for Avengers: Infinity War.
Since adding Thanos to the game, Fortnite has seen a few major crossovers with movies and other properties, from the NFL to musician Marshmello to Jordan sneakers. A John Wick crossover in May made the Fortnite Reaper skin obsolete, and a Fortnite Avengers: Endgame crossover in April added more Marvel love to the massively popular battle royale. It’s no wonder that brands of all kinds want to get their properties into Fortnite’s colorful world, as it means millions of players all over the world will see them. The Borderlands crossover, though, is the first Fortnite’s had with another video game, because apparently the Fortnite brand is so big it doesn’t have to worry about competition from other shooters.
Epic Games announced the Fortnite Borderlands crossover on the Fortnite website. The collaboration, called “Fortnite X Mayhem,” introduces the Psycho Bundle to the shop. Purchasing the bundle unlocks the Psycho skin (based on the iconic Borderlands enemy of the same name), the Buzz Axes dual weapon set, and the Claptrap Back Bling. Claptrap, the Borderlands series’ diminutive, robotic mascot, dances, dabs and even talks when equipped as Back Bling, barking phrases similar to those he shouts in his own games.
Perhaps the most significant part of the collaboration is the new Pandora Rift Zone added to the Battle Royale map near Paradise Palms. Everything in the zone closely mirrors the style of environmental objects seen in the Borderlands games (including loot chests), and entering the zone applies a borderlands-like filter to Fortnite’s graphics. This makes the game look even more cartoony, as everything is outlined with a thick black stroke. Epic also noted that some of the objects seen in the zone will be available as Prefabs for building in Fortnite Creative mode, and a free Welcome to Pandora Challenge Bundle will allow players to unlock weapon wraps and sprays.
Although it's never explicitly mentioned in any of the collaboration’s info, the Fornite X Mayhem crossover is clearly meant to promote the Borderlands brand in time for the upcoming launch of Borderlands 3. The game might need the advertising boost, too, as developer Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford’s questionable decisions have created negative buzz around the game. A recent controversy involving a Borderlands YouTuber even made fans boycott Borderlands 3. Perhaps Gearbox hopes appealing to the millions of Fortnite fans could make some of them curious about the looter shooter.
The Fortnite X Mayhem Borderlands collaboration will end on September 10.
Source: Epic Games