Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris are once again using the power of video games in an attempt to encourage the younger pool of voters to cast their vote in this year's election, and this time around their campaign has built their own city in Fortnite for players to explore. The custom map educates young voters on the specifics of 2020 Democratic Party platform and features some chuckle-worthy Biden memes.
This isn't Joe or Kamala's first time using video games during their campaign. Earlier this year, the duo launched a line of custom yard signs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons which players could download via QR codes. Players could sport these signs around their islands to show their support for the Democratic candidate. Later, the Biden campaign put together an entire Animal Crossing island that players can visit via Dream Code. This island offered voter education as well as more custom designs including in-game merch players could sport.
With only a couple of weeks before election day, the Biden/Harris campaign launched its own custom Fortnite island titled "Build Back Better with Biden." This custom map takes players on a short 30-minute adventure through the fictional "Reboot City" and educates players on Biden's economic recovery plan. Players will be tasked with completing six mini-quests including cranking 90s, collecting Kamala's sneakers, and visiting Joe's ice cream shop. Players can visit the official Joe Biden Fortnite map by using the code 0215-4511-1823. Screenshots from the island can be found below.
While the main focus of the map is Joe Biden's campaign, the map is filled with novelty. There are plenty of Biden memes scattered around the map including references to his love for ice cream and aviator sunglasses. Biden's signature catchphrase, "No Malarkey," is plastered in various locations around the map, and some of the mini-games are pretty fun. As far as performance goes, "Build Back Better with Biden" is about as polished as any other Fortnite creative map, which isn't saying an incredible deal. The presentation is rather impressive, but sometimes things just don't work the way they are supposed to.
The use of video games to reach an audience is something that is becoming increasingly popular among political figures and celebrities, and Fortnite has been the home to a growing number of crossover events involving film, music, and even progressive activism. While Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' approach is a little less hands-on, political darlings like AOC have actually played videogames with popular streamers to more effectively drive home the importance of voting. Regardless of approach, it is pretty cool that gamers are not a forgotten demographic in this election and that some candidates care enough about young voters to get their hands dirty in the virtual world