Epic Games has revealed the return of Thanos to its hyper-popular battle royale shooter Fortnite.
Speculation first began when the official Fortnite Twitter account posted a tweet that simply read, "He is inevitable..." followed by emojis of six orbs, each sporting a different color. Considering the quote was likely in reference to Thanos' iconic line from Avengers: Endgame and the colors of the emoji orbs line up with the six Infinity Stones collected by the Mad Titan, fans began to speculate that his return was imminent.
Soon after the tweet from the Fortnite account, Epic Games confirmed the villain's return. "Three years after his LTM debut in Fortnite, Thanos arrives in the Item Shop for the very first time. Beginning at 8pm ET on June 26, 2021, you can play as the Mad Titan himself, even equipping the Infinity Gauntlet Back Bling inspired by Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame - completed with all six Infinity Stones," reads the post. The Thanos outfit can be purchased through the in-game store from June 26.
Players will also be able to earn the Thanos outfit early through the Thanos Cup, an online tournament dedicated to the crossover event. The competition will see Duos parties competing in ten different matches over the course of three hours. Teams will need to acquire as many points as possible by eliminating enemies and surviving as long as possible.
Winning players will be given the Thanos outfit and Infinity Gauntlet back bling early. Teams that manage to earn a total of eight points will be rewarded with the "Thanos Watches!" spray. In order to enter, players must have an Epic Account level of 30 or higher and two-factor authentication enabled on their profile. The Thanos Cup starts on June 21.
Fortnite often runs mini-tournaments to promote the game's crossover skins; the most recent event was the Deathstroke Zero Cup, which allowed players a chance to win a skin based on the DC Comics villain. Beast Boy was similarly introduced into Fortnite through the Teen Titans Cup.
This marks Thanos' third appearance in Fortnite. The powerful intergalactic villain first cameoed in the game through a limited-time mode in 2018 which tied in with the launch of Avengers: Infinity War. The Mad Titan and his Chitauri then invaded Fortnite again in 2019 to promote Avengers: Endgame.
Developed by Epic Games, Fortnite is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile.
Source: Epic Games