Star Wars met Fortnite in a special, time-limited event inside Epic Games' Fortnite Battle Royale. This promotional crossover celebrated the release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. Kicking off on December 14, 2019, it concluded on January 7, 2020, running alongside Fortnite's Winterfest celebration. The event was revealed on December 8 via Fortnite's Twitter and within the game itself. Character outfits from Rise of Skywalker, including Finn, Rey, and a Sith trooper, became available on December 12. Later that same day, at The Game Awards 2019, Donald Mustard announced that all players would receive a free TIE Whisper Glider during the event.
The live event unfolded at Risky Reels, a familiar location on the Fortnite island. It began with the Millennium Falcon struggling to land, followed by the arrival of a First Order fleet, which dispatched three TIE fighters to attack the Falcon. The Falcon successfully destroyed all the fighters. The Falcon then landed at Risky Reels, and Geoff Keighley appeared as a hologram, greeting the audience before introducing Ben Schwartz, who was in character as FN0143, a stormtrooper. The two then brought out director J.J. Abrams, who spoke about The Rise of Skywalker. Players then voted on what scene they thought would be shown: Darth Jar Jar, a Jedi mind trick, the Knights of Ren, or a Rey and Kylo power ballad. The mind trick option received the most votes and turned out to be the correct scene.
A brief clip from The Rise of Skywalker was then shown, depicting Rey, Finn, and Poe boarding the Steadfast. Rey used a mind trick to persuade stormtroopers to let them pass. After the clip, players voted for their favorite lightsaber color. However, the Star Destroyers returned, forcing the trio to quickly retreat to the Falcon. As they departed, Sheev Palpatine's voice echoed, announcing that it was the "day of the Sith" as the players entered slow motion. Immediately afterward, players were given lightsabers in the color they had just voted for. The remainder of the game turned into a team deathmatch using only lightsabers.
Following the live event, the Fortnite X Star Wars collaboration fully materialized. TIE fighter crash sites appeared across the map, lightsabers were temporarily added to the game, and First Order Blaster Rifles could be found at these crash sites.
With Fortnite X Star Wars, lightsabers were introduced into Fortnite, giving players the choice of Kylo Ren's, Rey's, Luke Skywalker's, and Mace Windu's lightsabers. Throughout the event, players could find these weapons in special chests within the Battle Royale mode.
During Fortnite's Winterfest, players could unwrap one gift in the game each day. Two of these were themed around Star Wars: one was a Millennium Falcon Glider, and the other was a Backbling featuring the Sith logo.
New cosmetic outfits, including Kylo Ren and Zorii Bliss, were made available on December 21.
- Read about Fortnite Battle Royale on Wikipedia
- The Force Is Strong With Fortnite (backup link)
- Watch the Fortnite X Star Wars - Gameplay Trailer on the Fortnite YouTube channel (backup link)