The massively popular battle royale game, Fortnite has teased yet another massive content crossover, one that will have anime fans screaming. According to a cryptic tweet from Fortnite, the battle royale will meet with the characters from the beloved animated show Naruto: Shippuden. The teaser comes hot on the trail of leaks suggesting that content from Naruto could be coming to Fortnite very soon.
Fortnite, of course, is no stranger to massively ambitious crossover events. Developer Epic Games has already collaborated with massive properties like Marvel, DC, the NFL, multiple streamers, and most recently the popular MOBA game League of Legends. The crossover timed to coincide with the League of Legends-based Netflix show Arcane, sees the character Jinx from both League and Arcane joining the fight in Fortnite as a player skin. Jinx, a marksman with an appetite for destruction, has fit naturally into the colorful, goofy battlegrounds of Fortnite, leading many players to speculate about what the next big Fortnite crossover event might be. And now, Epic Games has given some information as to what players can expect to see.
In a tweet, Fortnite teased that a Naruto: Shippuden crossover. There was no specific information given other than the release date of November 16, but based on past crossover events it would be likely that cosmetic items such as skins, pickaxes, back bling, emotes, and more would be added to Fortnite. As the sequel to the popular Naruto anime, Naruto: Shippuden ran for over ten years and 500 episodes before ending in 2017. Of course, popular characters from the Naruto series like Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake are among the top candidates to be added to Fortnite as playable skins.
The timing of the announcement is quite suspicious, though, as Fortnite crossovers are often timed to coincide with a new release or announcement. Just like League of Legends and Arcane, the recent Carnage skin that was added to Fortnite coincided with the release of Venom: Let there Be Carnage. This has also been the case for past content related to Dune, Shang-Chi, and more, so fans of the Naruto anime might be getting excited that this collaboration could be an indication of some announcement regarding the future of that franchise. However, at this point, that is mere speculation, as this could simply be a case of Fortnite capitalizing on a fandom of a beloved franchise.
For now, fans of Naruto can look forward to seeing their franchise join many other massive properties in the Fortnite universe. It still remains to be seen whether players will get to witness Naruto Uzumaki win a gun battle against Baba Yaga in Fortnite, but the mere prospect is tantalizing to imagine.
Fortnite is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Android.
Source: Fortnite/Twitter