If you were expecting the likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or Goofy to join Fortnite and crank 90s while earning a Victory Royale, you might be disappointed to hear that Disney doesn't want them using any kind of weapon when they inevitably arrive to the battle royale.
While it wasn't a foreign concept for Fortnite, with many Marvel and Star Wars characters joining the battle royale before Disney's massive $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, plans for a bigger collaboration involving more than just superheroes were set in motion earlier this year, sadly, it seems the company will have a lot of say in how Epic handles the crossovers.
In a very interesting interview with The Verge, Epic Games Executive Vice President Saxs Persson stated that the company sees a lot of value in their collaboration with Disney, one that extends beyond their gameplay offerings, however, there will be limitations about what players can expect to do with Disney-related cosmetics within said experiences.
“Not every outfit will be able to do everything,” Persson says. “A [Lego] minifig doesn’t hold a gun. Brands should be able to enforce the brand guidelines to the degree that they’re comfortable with that brand being associated with particular ratings.”
If you've been living under a rock this past year, Fortnite is much more than just a battle royale nowadays, offering things like Lego Fortnite, a Minecraft-esque cozy building simulator, Fortnite Festival, a Rock Band-like rhythm game developed by industry veterans Harmonix, and Rocket Racing, an arcade racing game developer by Psyonix, of Rocket League fame.
The cosmetic ecosystem between all of these is super well constructed and refined, with players able to use the vast majority of skins across all modes. Even things like Rocket League or Fall Guys play a part in this integration, with multiple integrations between the two and Fortnite featuring quests and cosmetics to earn occurring this past year.
So, while it may be disappointing to hear that potential Disney skins won't be available on the main battle royale modes, there's no shortage of modes where you'll be able to use them. That's not even counting the brand-new exclusive experiences Disney and Epic seem to be cooking.
In the meantime, expect more Disney skins to hit the Fortnite Item Shop following the release of The Incredibles set, with Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, and Maleficent coming to the game according to leaks. I guess they are evil enough to wipe out an entire lobby.