Copyright Rolling Stone
It’s been a wild few days for Fortnite players as the latest update to Epic Games’ online multiplayer platform has been completely taken over by The Simpsons. Revealed on Saturday, Nov. 1, and launched shortly after, the in-game collaboration overhauled the battle royale title with new character skins, cosmetics, and a fully explorable 80-player Springfield map. But unlike most Fortnite collabs, the crossover with 36-year-old animated sitcom has extended beyond just playable content and crept into The Simpsons itself. Aired on Nov. 2, the latest episode of The Simpsons (now in its 37th season) kicks off with a Fortnite twist on the classic couch gag that opens each installment. The gag sees a Simpsons-fied version of Fortnite avatar Peely getting gunned down with zapper guns by the family and gruesomely eaten as a banana split. It’s pretty great in a violent Itchy and Scratchy sort of way. Now, Rolling Stone has an exclusive look at the second (and final, for now) Fortnite-themed couch gag from The Simpsons, produced by team behind the show at Gracie Films. Watch the full clip below. In true Fortnite fashion, the clip shows Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie all making the leap from the famous Battle Bus — the exact same way each match of Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode begins. Nate Nanzer, SVP of Global Partnerships at Epic Games, sees the collaboration as a huge step forward for Fortnite’s cross-media expansion. “The Simpsons takeover in Fortnite shows how the worlds of gameplay, storytelling, and on-screen intersect. Working with the team behind The Simpsons, and in partnership with Disney, players step into one of TV’s most beloved animated series to explore, laugh, and experience it with their friends,” Nanzer said in a statement to Rolling Stone. The mini-season of Fortnite will continue rolling out new content updates each week throughout November. In just a few short days, The Simpsons have led a surge in active players for the game, with an announcement on Fortnite’s social media handles claiming that the platform has seen the highest number of new and returning players in 48 hours since last holiday season. Editor’s picks Part of the rise could be attributed to increased awareness of the crossover stemming from official Fortnite / Simpsons animated shorts which, starting this week, will be launching on Disney+ for the duration of the event. Matt Selman, EP and co-showrunner of The Simpsons, describes the mini-episodes as a symbiotic extension of the game. “Every week, you get a new short on Disney+ that ties to what’s happening in-game, so the story literally moves between your screen and your controller,” Selman says. “The shorts tell stories the way The Simpsons always has, and the game gives fans a new way to live inside that world through Fortnite’s interactivity. According to Sean Shoptaw, EVP of Disney Games and Digital Entertainment, the success of the crossover could potentially lead to more of Disney’s IP appearing in Fortnite, and vice versa. “Disney and Epic are laying the foundation for a bold new era of entertainment – one where players and fans can connect in ways that feel both personal and limitless,” Shoptaw says. “The Fortnite [and] The Simpsons collaboration demonstrates the power of connected storytelling across mediums — a groundbreaking season written by the iconic team at Gracie Films that redefines how stories and worlds can intertwine.” Fans have been tearing the new Springfield Island map apart to unearth Easter eggs and hidden gags, including a full dissection of the notorious wonky house that the family inhabits. Selman credits Epic and the show’s writing team with the coordinated effort to make the crossover an authentic Simpsons experience — in gaming or otherwise. Related Content “The humor is baked into every part of the experience, not just in the visuals or dialogue, but in how Springfield actually feels to explore. From the way the world reacts to you to the unexpected moments you stumble into, it all carries that unmistakable Simpsons tone,” Selman says. “The hilarious Simpsons writers Jeff Westbrook and Ryan Koh worked closely with Epic to make sure the comedy feels organic and true to the characters, while still taking advantage of Fortnite’s interactivity. Because this is its own “Springfield Island,” it also lets us have fun with the fact that The Simpsons now exists inside Fortnite’s wonderfully chaotic universe — one that’s self-aware, absurd, and constantly colliding with other worlds. It’s classic Simpsons storytelling, told through gameplay.” Trending Stories He adds, “the fun of Fortnite is that it’s exceptionally well-crafted, but never so self-serious that it loses the joy, and it’s the perfect way for The Simpsons to return to gaming for the first time in over a decade.” Fortnite is free-to-play on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS. “The Simpsons Battle Pass” costs 1,000 V-Bucks ($8.99 USD) to access.
