If you're playing “Fortnite” tomorrow and wonder why the vehicle models you see in the distance don't load fully, it's not a graphical bug. It's the handful of polygons that make up the chassis of the Cyber Truck that will appear in Fortnite tomorrow in an official collaboration with Tesla. Whether Tesla's marketing team knew that this season's Fortnite slogan is “Wrecked” is unclear. Happy Accident?
The approach of the cybertruck was heralded with severe foreboding yesterday when the Fortnite X account posted a teaser image showing a fragment of the cybertruck logo. Today, the collaboration is fully revealed in a short trailer, showing the Fortnite fish man towing a large amount of junk, then his tow chain breaks and the cybertruck speeds down the road.
We won't know how faithful this skin is until we get to drive it in-game. Is the Fortnite cybertruck in danger of falling apart while jumping dunes? Or will a light splash of Chug Jug juice cause them to visibly rust? Will the player's character also suffer lacerations from a slight bump on the tailgate?
Given that you can pay for the skin, probably not. It's hard to believe that a company would sell a truck knowing that it could be ripped to shreds. But, after all, “Fornite” is a game in which Batman uses an assault rifle with impunity, and is not so concerned with faithful depiction.
As a carnival of corporate branding, there is nothing sacred about Fortnite, even if the sight of Goku hitting Gridi evokes something close to religious awe. But there is something sacrilegious about forcing him to share space with a real vehicle that has already been recalled for three fatal flaws since it began running on the streets in November 2023.
One wonders how the public is reacting to the shapemobile's appearance, but the declaration that it is the “civic duty” of all Fortnite players to destroy cyber trucks as they are found has already been retweeted thousands of times. Along with the crossover with Fortnite, cybertrucks will also appear in Rocket League. Just a hunch.
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