Fortnite Mocks Haters By Selling 'Dead Game' Skin
The sign of any good comedian is the ability to poke fun at yourself. While some video game developers take themselves very seriously (we're looking at you Rockstar), at least Epic Games can have a little chuckle at its own expense with Fortnite.
As with any game that climbs to the top of the cultural phenomenon, the problems of becoming so big is that you have more complaints. It stands to reason that the bigger your player base, the more complainers you're going to have alongside the fans. If anyone knows this, it's Fortnite, as the ghostly shouts of "dead game" continue to haunt us.
What Is The Fortnite 'Dead Game' Meme?
Available in the Fortnite shop now, the "Checkered Past Pack" is one for Fortnite fans and haters alike. The main outfit includes a skin wearing a checkered hat, black nail polish, and a turtleneck that says "dead game" in white lettering.
Epic is clearly having a lot of fun with this one, as the official Fortnite Twitter account openly mocks those who've been calling it a dead game. The funny thing is, at 600 V-bucks for the pack, Fortnite is sure to make a pretty penny off you guys calling it dead. Oh, the irony is delicious.
According to Know Your Meme, "dead game" goes all the way back to a forum in 2010 about which dormant franchises you'd like to see make a return. Before its mainstream spread, it was being used to slam the likes of StarCraft, League of Legends, and Dota 2. By the time outlets like ourselves started writing about player numbers, you could barely move for snarky gamers writing "dead game" in the comments.
Is Fortnite A Dead Game?
Fortnite obviously isn't a dead game, but if you look for examples of a dead game meme, chances are you'll see the battle royale favourite there. There are complaints that the Chapter 3 Season 4 update hasn't done much apart from covering the map in chromatic goop, but remember, the annual Fortnitemares Halloween should see an uptick in players. After that, it won't be long until we have another boost with Epic's Christmas content.
If you search Fortnite right now, there are just under 3 million concurrent players jumping off the Battle Bus. It might be a far cry from the record-breaking 15.3 million that played the Galactus live event, but still, it's some impressive stats. Obviously, the responses to Epic's tweet about the Checkered Past skin were filled with "dead game." Then again, wasn't that exactly what the social team was hoping for? Well played Epic, well played indeed.
