Why was Kirby in the Fortnite Party Royale Trailer?

If you’re big into your Fortnite, chances are that you saw the trailer for the Party Royale event on May 7, with the event taking place on the evening of May 8. The show introduced a trio of high profile DJs with 20-minute music sets, including deadmau5, Steve Akoi, and Dillon Francis. The show was a cool concert, with music that fans of EDM will have enjoyed immensely.

However, the reason for highlighting the trailer is because, for those that watched the trailer through an avenue that wasn’t the Playstation or the Xbox YouTube channels, you may have spotted a familiar pink blob appearing in the background. The blob was none other than Nintendo’s pink fluffball Kirby.

The character appears within the first second of the trailer, on the bottom right of the big screen in the background as players dance on a bridge. If you watch the trailer via the Playstation channel or Xbox channel on Youtube, the pink blob is still there but is blurred out, so it just looks like a pink blob. This was done, understandably, to avoid any copyright issues with Nintendo without editing something else in.

But then this begs the question, why was Kirby there in the first place? While it could only have been an easter egg for eagle-eyed fans, it’s a deliberate inclusion that Epic would have known they’d have to blur out for non-Nintendo channels running the trailer.

It’s also unlikely that there will be a huge collaboration between the two IPs as Nintendo are notoriously protective of their franchises, even when it comes to the biggest games on the planet, such as Fortnite. However, it does show that there could be a willingness to offer some crossover between Fortnite and the manufacturer’s franchises. 

While it’s unlikely that you’ll be sparring with Kirby any time soon in the Weeping Woods, there could be some crossover in the non-combat sections of the game. Characters from other franchises appearing, or assets from other games that could be used in Fortnite Creative that can allow for themed levels. This would add even more to the level of customization available in the game, and start allowing the series to compete a little closer with the likes of Roblox and Minecraft, where you’re more free and able to create themed levels of other games.

It could also mean that skins will start to include exclusives to platforms. A Kirby skin for Switch players, playing Fortnite as Master Chief on Xbox, or cruising around the map as Kratos on Playstation could be an excellent marketing opportunity for both the game and for the console manufacturers.

While it’s not fully clear why Kirby was in the trailer, his appearance does leave the door open for many cool possibilities. Here’s hoping that it’s more than simply fan service.