Fans have discovered multiple Fortnite Easter eggs in The Matrix Awakens, hinting that the long-awaited collaboration could possibly be revealed in the popular battle royale title's next update. Fully announced and released on next-generation consoles during The Game Awards 2021, The Matrix Awakens is Epic Games' first Unreal Engine 5 tech demo and gives players a glimpse at the new engine's capabilities inside the digital world of The Matrix. This includes realistic animations and high-quality effects in its limited - yet sandbox-like - photorealistic world that players can gradually explore.
As a free-to-play battle royale title, crossovers have played a vitally important role in Fortnite's short history. Characters from popular films, shows, and even other video games have made special appearances, allowing players to take the form of their favorite pop culture icons by purchasing or unlocking skins and cosmetics through its extended battle pass system - which updates each seasonal calendar. This has kept the platform profitable and more collaborations always seem to be on the way. Recently, a leak revealed that a set of Matrix skins would make its way to Fortnite in the second half of December, and now there seems to be new proof that strengthens previous rumors.
Players exploring The Matrix Awakens seem to have run across multiple easter eggs that hint at a potential collaboration between the popular sci-fi franchise and Fortnite. One popular Fortnite leaker, ShiinaBR shared the discovery of Supply Llama from Fortnite in the new The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. A statue version of the well-known Llama can be seen on a monument that reads "Where did my friend go?" at a random park inside its city plaza. Another Easter egg, posted by user FNBRintel, can be found outside of one of the demo's cafes on a serving chalkboard. Fortnite's armor replenishing drink, the Chug Jug, is drawn on the board -along with a message explaining that those who complete the Chug Jug challenge will get free drinks for a year.
The discovery of Fortnite Easter eggs look to be stirring, however, they aren't the only ones buried deep inside the impressively sizeable map of the tech demo. A hidden callback found in one of The Matrix Awakens' many rigid buildings appears to reference one of the most recognizable scenes from the original Matrix movie. A television screen appears to show the Neo and Morpheus training scene, where the two characters battle it out for the very first time.
While the newly discovered Easter eggs are an interesting recollection of popular aspects from Fortnite's universe, it's unknown when or what exactly will be featured in its crossover with The Matrix. Without a doubt fans of the franchise would love to take on the roles of Morpheus and Agent Smith with new Fortnite cosmetics, although it seems like a collaboration will likely only feature Neo and Trinity skins to better market the new demo. Nonetheless, these new Easter eggs strengthen the validity of recent leaks and the update could be heading to Fortnite sooner than expected.
The Matrix Awakens tech demo is available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: ShiinaBR/Twitter, FNBRintel/Twitter