Epic Games has partnered with the NFL to bring official football team skins and gear to the video game Fortnite.
Rachel Hoagland, the NFL's vice president and head of gaming and eSports, said the league was eager to team up with Epic Games to give the "NFL fan audience a great way to express their fandom inside of the Fortnite game.. and to really tap into this cultural phenomenon that we have seen now for the past year."
Customization Options and Player Uniforms
Fortnite players will soon be able to select uniforms from all 32 NFL teams. Players can customize their character with a number of their choice alongside helmets, pants, and cleats from different teams.
Jerseys and numbers can be changed at any time, providing customization flexibility. The NFL outfits will be available for both male and female avatars.
"That is actually very exciting for us, with the avatars being available as females and being able to have females in NFL uniforms for the first time," Hoagland said.
Usernames and the names of real NFL players will not appear on the back of the Fortnite jerseys. This means stars like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will continue their duels on the gridiron field instead of the Fortnite map.
In addition to team outfits, NFL-themed emotes, gliders, and harvesting tools will be available. The item shop will also feature male and female referee outfits, allowing referees to signal touchdowns and first downs as "a way to bring some fun and some pop culture relevance to the game," according to Hoagland.
First Outside Partnership for Epic Games
The deal marks the first time Epic Games has partnered with an outside group to introduce themed skins into Fortnite.
"We have so many football fans at Epic and we know a lot of the game's fans share that same enthusiasm. Allowing our players to represent their favorite teams in the game was too cool of an opportunity for us to pass up and we couldn't be happier with how they turned out!" Epic Games cofounder Mark Rein said in a statement.
Players will be able to buy three variations of the new skins in male and female forms. The NFL outfits will be sold for V-Bucks in the Fortnite Battle Royale item shop starting Friday, November 9, with pricing comparable to current skins.
Overview of Fortnite Features and Platforms
Fortnite is a free-to-play shooter video game developed and published by Epic Games. Released in July 2017, the game implemented its battle royale mode in September 2017 and boasts a global player base of 125 million people.
The battle royale mode pits 100 players against each other in matches combining traditional action-shooter gameplay, gear scavenging, and fort building. Fortnite is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.
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