Epic Games' Fortnite has transcended its battle royale shooter label thanks to numerous events and crossovers positioning the game to be a sort of content platform in its own right. From live concerts by artists like Travis Scott and Ariana Grande to world-altering experiences like the invasion of Marvel Comics' Galactus opening up the Zero Point on Fortnite's map, there's seemingly always something for players to look forward to after months grinding out Battle Pass cosmetics. However, cosmetics are undoubtedly one of the game's biggest draws, as Epic Games has featured all manner of pop culture icons.
Fortnite's crossovers include comic book universes like Marvel and DC, films like John Wick and Star Wars, and even real-world entities such as NFL teams or popular streamers like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins or Kathleen "Loserfruit" Belsten. Video games are a big draw as well, with characters like Kratos and Master Chief able to duke it out in the battle royale. Fortnite recently double-dipped with crossovers for Capcom's Street Fighter franchise. Ryu and Chun-Li were added in February 2021, and earlier this month Fortnite released skins for Cammy and Guile. However, as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has show, there's plenty of potential for more fighting games to get some love.
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Street Fighter is a clear choice for crossover content; the franchise is incredibly popular to this day, and its latest entry Street Fighter 5 is still receiving DLC over five years after its debut. It's one of Capcom's oldest mainstays, dating back to arcades in 1987, and has been featured in a huge number of crossovers with Marvel Comics, other fighting game franchises, and more. The aforementioned Smash Ultimate includes two Street Fighter representatives with Ryu and Ken as part of its "video game hall of fame" roster.
However, Super Smash Bros. has also made a point of including representatives from a number of famous fighting game series beyond Street Fighter, and it's easy to imagine Fortnite securing the rights to do so. SNK's catalogue has plenty of options to choose from beyond Smash Bros. character Terry Bogard, with King of Fighters regular Mai Shiranui a seemingly obvious choice if for no other reason than the marketing potential of playing off Masahiro Sakurai's infamous quote about Smash Bros. being for "good boys and girls of many different ages."
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Bandai Namco's Tekken is similarly chock full of characters that could join Fortnite's roster in the wake of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Kazuya Mishima DLC. Given the battle royale's tendency to feature characters like Fishstick, Meowscles, and Peely, more out-there Tekken reps like Roger the boxing kangaroo would fit right in. Tekken 7 is also seeing ongoing DLC, though more immediate contemporary fighting games like Guilty Gear Strive could also advertise themselves to Epic Games' massive fanbase.
More fighting games that have yet to grace the Smash Bros. roster can also appear in Fortnite, and may stand out further as a result. Mortal Kombat is the most obvious choice in that regard given NetherRealm Studios creative director Ed Boon has expressed interest in Mortal Kombat joining Smash Bros. without any payoff thus far. The series' infamously bloody history likely wouldn't be an issue for Epic Games, which has incorporated 80s action/horror characters such as Xenomorph, Predator, and Terminator – all of whom appear in different Mortal Kombat games.
These strange bedfellows could all fit into Fortnite's world, which already sees odd firefights between characters like Rick Sanchez, Harley Quinn, Daryl Dixon, and Aloy. There's seemingly no end to the rights that Epic Games can secure, with even rumors about Nintendo reps like Samus Aran circulating, so the developer seems like it's doing a disservice to the diverse fighting game genre by sticking to only Street Fighter in recent months.
Fortnite is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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