Fortnite

Fortnite
Making families poorer since 2017!
Developer	Epic Games
Publisher	Epic Games
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, iOS, Android
Release date	July 21, 2017
Rating	ESRB: T

Fortnite is a massively popular online video game developed by Epic Games, most famous for its 100-player "Battle Royale" game mode where players battle it out until only one remains. In June 2023, themed skins and accessories based on Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal were made available as part of a Rise of the Beasts promotion. Additional skins and accessories based on Bumblebee, Megatron, and even a Transformer version of the Fortnite Battle Bus released in October 2023.

Synopsis

Sadly, this is as close as we ever got to Dinobot showing up in Rise of the Beasts.

Given the game's widespread perception, it may be surprising to learn that Fortnite actually has a fairly complicated story that has played out in both the game and a few comic book tie-ins, involving characters and items from worlds throughout the omniverse, including (but far from limited to) the worlds of Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Star Wars, the Ghostbusters, and fellow Hasbro series G.I. Joe arriving in the dimension where Fortnite occurs. Compared to a couple other fictional universes involved in the game's plot, Transformers only plays a fairly small role — small enough to be described in a single sentence, in fact — so we'll try and keep this summary of the surrounding events fairly concise.

The Basics

Fortnite's Battle Royale mode takes place within a universe known as "Reality Zero", which primarily consists of a large island home to the "Zero Point", the nexus from which all existence emerged. This naturally makes it very powerful, and thousands of years before we enter the picture, a clandestine organization known as the Imagined Order (or "IO", for short) took control of the Zero Point and used it as a sort of omniversal teleporter to traverse the omniverse and adjust the various universes and realities within to fit their definition of "order". To ensure their control of the Zero Point and test strong individuals that might be worthy of joining their ranks, the IO also used the Zero Point to establish a time loop (referred to as simply "The Loop") on the island that renders its victims mute, restrains any superhuman abilities they might have, and nearly destroys one's memories and self-identity. These individuals, called "loopers", are forced to battle each other until one of them survives as a damaging storm closes in. At the same time, a mysterious, alien force known as the Last Reality has been traversing the omniverse and destroying reality after reality until only they remain, hence their name. These factions are opposed by "The Seven", a group dedicated to protecting the Zero Point and breaking the Loop at all costs.

There's a whole lot of stuff that happens during the game's first three chapters, but if you wanna know more about those events, go check the Fortnite wiki for an in-depth summary. For now, we're going to skip forward to the part that's relevant to this wiki...

Chapter 4, Seasons 1–3

After the IO is betrayed by one of their own members, Doctor Slone, Reality Zero is destroyed. However, the Zero Point reawakens and reforges it anew.

After a day-long camping break, the player's looper returns to the island to find all of The Seven missing. AMIE, an AI created by one of The Seven, having gained free will as a consequence of their absence, becomes unstable (in the violent, psychological sense), asking the player's looper to help her use the kinetic ore found on the new island to build her an exoskeleton so she can finally move about and interact with the world. The Oathbound, the main faction on the island and (seemingly) a past version of the Imagined Order, begins construction on a Rift Gate. The project's leader, The Warden (real name Stellan), has the player's looper assist in the project, which AMIE takes advantage of when a test of the Gate's capabilities reveals that The Seven are trapped and being "sculpted anew" by some dark entity. AMIE disconnects as her new body begins construction, and when the player's looper and Stellan activate the finished Rift Gate, things... don't go to either side's plan. The unstable Rift Gate creates a massive crack in the sky, which eventually opens up and drops a Japan-inspired landmass on top of part of the island. A largely-disconnected plot about uniting the syndicates of the region ensues.

The island soon begins experiencing earthquakes, which eventually cause a part of the island to crumble away and reveal a massive jungle that was hidden underground. Doctor Slone, as it turns out, survived her ordeal and was trapped here after Reality Zero was reforged. Now independent from the IO and working with a group of explorers (using them for her own means, naturally), she begins working to make her plans for the island a reality... whatever those are.

...Oh, and some guy named Optimus Prime begins sending messages to the island through the vehicle radios, warning the loopers of reality's impending collapse at the hands of some "formidable enemy" that's caught wind of the island's power fading.

As the weeks go by, a picture comes into focus: an ancient, broken-down "Apparatus", regularly described as some kind of "stellar projector", is discovered in the jungle, which Slone and the explorers gradually dig up and rebuild over the course of Season 3. The player's looper (optionally in-game, but canonically story-wise) uncovers the prisms needed to get the Apparatus up and running. During the season's eighth week, Slone, having evidently fallen out with the explorers, tasks the player's looper with recovering schematics created by Stellan as part of his Rift Gate project, then uses them to track down some of the ore Stellan used to build the Rift Gate, which the looper uncovers and places at the Apparatus. The Apparatus is then turned on, after which Slone divulges that her plans might just be what gets the island and the loopers away from their enemies for good, and an audio log of hers indicates that the key involves some kind of "Eclipse"...

...But since Transformers stops being actively involved at this point (for now, at least), we're going to have to leave things off there. Again, if you wanna know what happens next, the Fortnite wiki's got you covered.

Quotes

"I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my allies. There is grave danger on the horizon. The power that once flowed through your island has faded, and formidable enemies have taken notice. You must brave the unknown... The answers you seek lie deep within the starless void that brought you here. Fight on, and roll out."

—Heard by accessing a mural within Rumble Ruins.

"Greetings. My name is Optimus Prime. If you are hearing this, the time has come to make your escape. This reality is doomed to collapse, but hope is not yet lost. I cannot sustain this broadcast for much longer. Listen and more will follow."

—Week 1's radio transmission.

"I have been in contact with the one you call Slone. And while she may be an unlikely ally... She alone, knows the path forward."

—Week 2's radio transmission.

"Those who lived here long ago discovered a secret hidden among the stars. The artifacts they left behind will guide you. You will find everything you need to study the stars hidden throughout the island."

—Week 3's radio transmission.

"The key to your future lies in the past... You must brave the unknown. Fight on, and roll out!"

—The final radio transmission.

Transformers content

Several skins and accompanying accessories based on Transformers characters have been made available, either for purchase from the in-game shop or earnable through gameplay:

• A skin based on Optimus Prime, which comes with a built-in "Barrage Cannon" emote, was available as part of the Battle Pass for Chapter 4, Season 3, which began on June 9, 2023, to tie in with the release of Rise of the Beasts. The skin could only be unlocked after reaching level 100 and unlocking every other item on the pass, including a "Cybertronian Axe" pickaxe skin, an Autobot Emblem "Back Bling", an animated emoticon of the Autobot insignia morphing into the phrase "ROLL OUT!" and back, a graffiti tag of Optimus (based on the in-game skin, but labelled as "G1 Optimus Prime") posing in front of a silhouetted Cybertron, and a replacement for the game's loading screen featuring Prime rushing towards the camera. Gaining an extra 25 levels after finishing the Battle Pass allowed the player to earn some additional Transformers-themed "Bonus Rewards", including an "Autobot Signal Flare" contrail (a particle effect visible as the player falls towards the island), a "Battle-Tested" variation of the Prime skin with added battle damage, and a player banner based on the Autobot insignia. As Battle Pass rewards are only available via purchasing the Pass itself and then unlocking them, Prime and his associated items became unobtainable following the end of Chapter 4, Season 3 on August 25, 2023. Boo.
• Also as part of Chapter 4, Season 3, an Optimus Primal skin was made available alongside a Back Bling based on the Maximal insignia via the in-game shop for 1600 of the game's in-game currency, V-Bucks (roughly $12.78 US dollars at the time), with his twin swords (referred to as "Sonic Swords") also available as a pickaxe skin for 800 V-Bucks; a bundle containing both sets was also added, costing 1800 V-Bucks. Primal disappeared from the shop on June 20, but unlike Battle Pass items, shop items do tend to return every so often, and thus far Primal has been re-added to the shop once since his initial removal... on November 26, 2023, a roughly 160 day gap between appearances.^[1]
• A Fortnite Transformers Pack was released in physical retailers on October 13, 2023, followed by a digital release on October 21. The pack costs $24.99, and includes 1000 V-bucks, along with the following:
  • A Bumblebee skin, which comes with a built-in "Battle Ready" emote, along with an accompanying "Bumblebee's Wings" Back Bling and Stinger Sword pickaxe skin.
  • A Megatron skin, which comes with a built-in Fusion cannon emote, along with an accompanying Decepticon Emblem Back Bling and an Energon Mace pickaxe skin.
  • A skin based on a hypothetical robot mode for the Fortnite Battle Bus, complete with a "Bot Air Balloon" Back Bling and a "Pick Axle" pickaxe skin. As the announcement is very careful to note that "BattleBus is not an official Transformers character", we do not currently cover it in depth.
• A series of "Transformers Quests" were made available for players to complete from June 9 to June 22, 2023, with each individual quest rewarding Battle Pass XP. Two additional rewards were also available, earned for completing enough quests overall: 5 quests earned the "Jungle King" spray (a graffiti tag of Optimus Primal), and 10 quests earned the "Maximize!" emoji (the Maximal equivalent of the aforementioned "Roll Out!" emoji).
• During Chapter 4, Season 3, a "Cybertron Cannon" was temporarily added to the list of possible weapon drops. Outside of the name and the fact that it transforms into a compact backpack bearing the Autobot insignia for the user when not in-hand, it doesn't have any real connection to Transformers.

Notes

Unfortunately for Fortnite players, it will never be Prime Time.

• Bafflingly, while all the Transformers skins have unique, built-in emotes, none of them involve the character transforming into their alt-mode. It's likely that Epic decided that it would be too confusing and unbalanced to have skins with emotes that cause the player's character (and therefore, their hitboxes) to radically change in size and shape, thereby potentially giving those who bought the skins a competitive advantage over those who didn't.
• The "Autobot Signal Flare" contrail features the Transwarp Key appearing above the player and opening a portal. If the player has the Optimus Primal skin and the Autobot Signal Flare contrail equipped at the same time, the Autobot insignia that normally appears is replaced with the Maximal insignia instead. (Sadly, no Decepticon insignia when using Megatron.)
• Peter Cullen voiced Optimus Prime's radio messages during Chapter 4, Season 3.
• The promotional images for the Fortnite Transformers Pack feature the word "Fortnite" written in the Autobot alphabet along the left edge.
• Of the two skins in the "Transformers Pack", Megatron's is based directly on his evergreen design, with multiple details lifted near-1:1 from his character model, while Bumblebee's appears to be derived from his (loosely evergreen-influenced) design in Rocket League, also owned by Epic Games.
• A spray named "Prime Time" was created, but never released. It's unclear if the spray is planned for a future update, or if it was scrapped in favor of the "G1 Optimus Prime" spray.
• The Transformers skins are sadly not among those that are cross-compatible with the LEGO Fortnite mode. Sorry, Kre-O fans.
• In early November 2024, Fortnite added the "Kicks" cosmetics, allowing certain skins to wear licensed Nike shoes. Currently, the Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee skins can equip Kicks.

References

External links

• Fortnite at Wikipedia
• Fortnite wiki
• Chapter 4 season 3 trailer