Virtual multi-genre band Gorillaz have crossed over with battle royale titan Fortnite and its rhythm-based side mode Fortnite Festival as packs of character skins based on the band’s cartoon musicians, along with several songs from their 25 year history available as Jam Tracks.
The brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz are comprised of four fictional musicians: vocalist Stuart “2D” Pot, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle, and drummer Russell Hobbs. All four characters are represented as skins across the games Music Pass and character bundle, alongside band-themed item skins. The band joins a wide variety of artists like The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, and Sabrina Carpenter as “headliners” for Fortnite Festival’s major season updates.
Along with the cosmetics, several songs from the band will become available in the Festival game mode as Jam Tracks, including smash 2000s hits like ‘Feel Good Inc’, ‘Clint Eastwood’ and ‘DARE’. Visually, the in-game design of the characters is reminiscent of their early 2010’s look, during and after promotion for their third studio album Plastic Beach. The track ‘On Melancholy Hill’ from this album will also be available as a Jam Track.
Alongside the Gorillaz crossover, this latest update to the game contains a variety of non-themed additions as well, such as new item skins for Festival, a helping of Epic Games-produced jam tracks, and songs by MXZI, Hanumankind, and Stone Temple Pilots. This update also makes various fixes and quality-of-life improvements to the game.
Gorillaz, who have been celebrating their 25th anniversary with a variety of live concerts, new merchandise, and a London exhibition called The House of Kong, have commemorated the launch of this crossover by announcing a Fortnite pop-up event at the London exhibition. Set to run until September 3, this event will feature game stations and live DJ performances.
Fortnite is available to download and play now on most major platforms. Tickets to Gorillaz’ House of Kong exhibition are available to purchase now, with prices ranging from £25-35. The exhibition will close on September 3. More information on the Fortnite Festival Season 10 update and Gorillaz crossover can be found on the Fortnite website.
Words by Ash Douglas
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