KPop Demon Hunters singer teases on her TikTok that a Fortnite collaboration is coming, right as Epic Games pulls a Peacemaker emote.
Epic Games is about to seal the Honmoon. KPop Demon Hunters singer Rei Ami teases on her TikTok that a Fortnite collaboration is coming, showing off a Zoey render—right as Epic Games pulls a Peacemaker emote from the game. Arguably, this is one of the fastest collabs the game has seen, and the payoff will be worth it. The render showed off Zoey in her movie poster outfit, but does not show anything for Rumi and/or Mira. Epic Games has not officially announced the new skins yet, but will probably soon.
Sony and Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters shattered multiple records, so this collaboration makes perfect sense. It is the most-watched original movie of all time, with over 236 million views—surpassing Red Notice. The animated film’s soundtrack also made history, with four songs from the fictional group HUNTR/X charting simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10. This is a first for an animated film soundtrack. Additionally, the fictional villain group Saja Boys set a record as the highest-charting K-pop boy band on US Spotify history for their song Your Idol. The movie is also a high-potential candidate for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Oscars this year.
Ami’s TikTok post showed her reaction to an Instagram conversation between her and the Fortnite IG account, revealing a render of what Zoey would look like in the battle royale game art style. The Fortnite account wrote, “It’s done, done, done” to Ami, quoting one of HUNTR/X’s songs. As of now, her bandmates Ejae (Rumi) and Audrey Nuna (Mira) have not posted their respective Fortnite skins. Also, it is not confirmed if any Saja Boys skins could be coming too. This is a great way to tease a KPop Demon Hunters collab because it is like when a KPop group teases an upcoming album release.
In controversial news, Epic Games just pulled the Peaceful Hips emote from Fortnite. The emote dropped earlier this month, which features John Cena’s character hip-thrusting and holding his arms in rigid 90-degree angles. “We’re disabling the Peaceful Hips Emote in Fortnite as we inquire into our partner’s creative intentions in this collab emote,” reads a social post from Fortnite. “Assuming it’s not coming back, we’ll issue refunds in the next few days. Sorry folks.” Those who do not want spoilers from DC and HBO’s Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 6 may not want to read ahead for the context.
The emote is controversial because of the latest episode’s storyline, where Peacemaker has been living in an alternate dimension where Nazis won World War 2 and the American flag’s stars have been swapped for swastikas. Looking at the dance emote, it is clearly imitating a swastika. Many questions are being asked because Warner Bros. agreed to collab with Epic Games, but maybe did not forewarn them of the emote’s true meaning—not wanting to spoil the show ahead of airing. However, it would be inappropriate to leave Nazi symbolism in a kid-friendly game.
Even Peacemaker writer and director James Gunn posted earlier this month about Peacemaker’s inclusion in Fortnite, adding “check out his bundle, complete with Peacemaker’s best friend Eagly and a peace-spreading, hip-swaying emote or two ;)”. Overall, this collaboration was very risky. But it is great that Epic Games is open to refunding players who purchased the emote, if the company decides to pull the emote from the Fortnite Item Shop. Stay tuned for Epic Games’ final decision.
