"Fortnite" / Epic Games
Tyler "Ninja" Blevins debuted his new "Fortnite" costume on his stream.
- Tyler "Ninja" Blevins is the most well-known "Fortnite" player in the world, and now he'll be a part of the game thanks to a new costume.
- "Fortnite" creator Epic Games says the new Ninja costume is a part of its ongoing Icon series, which will celebrate top "Fortnite" influencers.
- Past "Fortnite" collaborations have featured pop culture icons and musical artists like Batman and Major Lazer.
- The game made more than $1.8 billion selling costumes and other microtransactions to players last year.
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Tyler "Ninja" Blevins has built a multi-million-dollar career playing "Fortnite," and now the professional gamer will be enshrined in the game with a special costume bearing his likeness.
Epic Games says the new Ninja outfit is a part its ongoing Icon series, which will celebrate top "Fortnite" players and content creators. Players will be able to purchase the Ninja skin in the "Fortnite" shop starting Thursday, January 16.
This is not the first pop culture crossover for "Fortnite" - the game features costumes for characters like Batman, the Avengers, and John Wick. A handful of musical artists have gotten their own "Fortnite" outfits too, like Major Lazer, DJ Marshmello, and K-pop star Jung Chanwoo, from the boy band iKon.
Ninja plays "Fortnite" for thousands of viewers every day, streaming live on Microsoft's Mixer. He has millions of followers and has played with celebrities like Drake, Travis Scott, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Epic says it will celebrate several "Fortnite"creators with its Icon series - Ninja is just the first. The Ninja costume shows his face, but as players use it more often, they'll gain special masks that make the character look more like Ninja's logo. During "Fortnite" matches, the headband on the Ninja costume will grow in length as you get more eliminations. The Ninja costume uses a pair of katanas instead of the standard pickaxe when harvesting materials.
It's unclear how much the Ninja skin will cost when it becomes available on Thursday, but collaboration "Fortnite" skins typically cost between $10 and $20.
"Fortnite" is one of the most popular games in the world with more than 250 million registered players. Though the game is free to play, it reportedly earned $1.8 billion through microtransactions in 2019, making it the highest grossing game of the year.
I've dreamt of having a skin in Fortnite since I started playing the game. Today, my dream becomes reality. Get the Ninja Fortnite Skin in the Epic store Thursday 6 p.m. CST-Sunday 7 p.m. Don't forget to use code NINJA! #NinjaSkin #EpicPartner pic.twitter.com/xTn9UlbkGI
- Ninja (@Ninja) January 15, 2020This Fortnite skin set is sharp. I can imagine the iterations and rounds of notes took a lot of time. Came out great. Congrats to @Ninja and Epic on this launch! GG 👍 pic.twitter.com/yIFZOc1jPL
- Shane / Shibby (@Shane) January 15, 2020