Fortnite continues to solidify its reputation as the ultimate product placement platform, announcing a new crossover with Dungeons and Dragons. This comes in the form of a collaboration with two major Fortnite community creators, Chartis and Teravision Games. Both are behind a new series of fan-made, D&D-themed islands.
Islands are the arenas in which Fortnite's IP-laden battles take place. While there's always a primary island for standard battle royales, players can also input codes to visit fan-made islands. A press release from January 20 includes codes for five D&D islands:
- DnD Boxfights (Island Code 1190-4691-0255)
- DnD Treasure RNG (Island Code 4958-2624-5634)
- DnD Dungeon Deathrun (Island Code 5806-6430-015)
- DnD Bossfight (Island Code 2218-1049-5866)
- DnD Zombie Dragon Adventure (Island Code 2525-9596-3235)
"The five islands include a PvP arena, a social hub, a platformer, a co-op boss fight, and the largest co-op roguelike in Fortnite history", the press release says. These islands recreate major locations from the tabletop RPG, too, so expect to see the Yawning Portal, the Spine of the World, and Mount Hotenow appear. Also making a cameo will be some of the "legends of D&D", Klauth the dragon and Valindra Shadowmantle. They're not exactly Elminster levels of famous, but it's something.
The question that's been bugging me since this was announced is "Who is excited about this?" Who, other than the executives eager to "explore how D&D can connect with a diverse range of Fortnite players", cares?
I can't imagine anyone other than the mildly curious, existing D&D fans wanting to drop into one of these themed islands to see the tabletop references, and that doesn't make for a strong marketing tool. D&D may be more popular than ever, but it's not quite having an 'It' moment in wider popular culture. It doesn't have a character so recognizable that Martin McMainstream, who only consumes what the public consensus tells him to, would know it at a glance.
You're not Sabrina Carpenter, D&D. To most beyond the realms of nerddom, you're a D20 and three vaguely familiar letters, intangibly linked to the hit series Stranger Things. What does anyone gain from this? I'd rather you got on with telling us what's actually happening with this year's DnD release schedule rather than making guest appearances in other people's videogames.
But then, what do I know? Balenciaga got a Fortnite crossover, and it makes clothes. Anything is possible, and maybe these attempts at cross-platform marketing will at least be fun to play with.
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