In a huge win for both gamers and K-pop fans, Fortnite revealed a collaboration with K-pop sensation BTS, whose new music video for "Dynamite" is premiering in the battle royale-turned-promotional juggernaut's Party Royale mode. Fortnite has hosted plenty of music artists over the past year or so, but the upcoming event marks the first time that the game will serve as a platform for all-new material from such popular force in the entertainment industry.
Utilizing the game mechanics and social reputation, Fortnite has made a virtual stage for musicians, activists, and even huge film production companies to reach a whole new (and veritably young) gaming audience in Party Royale. While some cross-promotional events, such as Travis Scott's record-breaking Astronomical event, are huge enough to warrant their own temporary mode, Party Royale is the general, purpose-built home for in-game video screenings, making it perfect for a music video debut.
Announced on the official Fortnite Twitter page, will debut its world premiere of a new dance choreography music video for "Dynamite" on September 25 at 8 PM ET. Reflecting the power of BTS's fan base (and the K-pop fandom, in general), the video announcement from the musical heartthrobs themselves garnered over 100,000 likes in a little under a day. If players are unable to come to the live event, there will be a rebroadcast available on September 26, 8 AM EDT. [Update: Catch BTS's full "Dynamite" choreography music video below, as well as a peek at what the in-game looked like in Fortnite, courtesy of Fortnite Cookies.]
Along with the live event, Fortnite is also introducing new emotes to the game, expanding its large collection of borrowed dances. These emotes were choreographed by BTS, allowing players to show off their BTS moves wherever, whenever. As for the proper music video event, it's unclear if anything in Fortnite will ever match or surpass its record-shattering Travis Scott phenomenon, but a possibly budding partnership with K-pop titan Big Hit Entertainment could very well be Epic's ticket back to concurrent player counts that make other multiplayer-focused studios weep.
The event has received a lot of fan and player feedback, most of which was positive, while some players were generally unsatisfied with this collaboration on principle of BTS being a K-Pop group. Despite the mix of support and hate, this event could prove to be the start of something remarkable when weighing the potential of young people, gamers, K-pop stans, and the potentially massive segment where those groups intersect. With BTS's impending gaming venture on the horizon, the limits of both gaming's and K-pop's appeal currently seem endless.
Source: Fortnite