Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to PC via the Epic Games Store this month, which lines up a perfect marketing opportunity in Fortnite.
Epic Games Store Exclusivity for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Could Be Huge for Fortnite
Partway through The Game Awards 2021, viewers were treated to a trailer that began with the Epic Games Store logo before cutting to footage of Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This was an announcement that the acclaimed action-RPG reimagining of a classic Final Fantasy title and its PS5-based Intergrade expansion will be launching for PC on December 16, exclusive to Epic Games' storefront. However, one would be forgiven for thinking Epic Games was announcing characters like Sephiroth were joining Fortnite.
Sony has been actively getting its major exclusives onto PC of late, including Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War (2018), and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves. It isn't surprising to see Final Fantasy 7 Remake also take the leap, especially given developer Square Enix is not a PlayStation-owned studio; though the fact it will be an Epic Games Store exclusive is a different twist. Given the pantheon of iconic video game characters in Epic Games' free-to-play battle royale, it seems likely this exclusivity deal could lead to Fortnite having Final Fantasy 7 skins sooner rather than later.
Fortnite's Breadth of Crossovers
After the game exploded in popularity and inspired countless live-service titles, Fortnite has become a bastion for pop culture crossovers. From television shows like Stranger Things to movies like Dune (2021), and even a recent collaboration with the anime Naruto, Fortnite seemingly has it all. Various companies have longstanding partnerships with Epic Games in this regard, from Disney offering a number of Star Wars and Marvel Comics characters to WarnerMedia offering DC Comics representatives as well as standalone properties like Rick and Morty.
Video games have been just as lucrative for crossover skins, including League of Legends' Jinx, Street Fighter's Ryu, and Tomb Raider's Lara Croft. Major publisher Microsoft has been just as willing to put its big names on the line with Master Chief and a new Fortnite crossover starring Gears of War characters. Sony has done the same with Horizon Zero Dawn's Aloy, as well as Spider-Man characters including the titular webhead, Venom, and Carnage. Though Spider-Man is a Marvel property, Sony Pictures owns the character's film rights and he has become a staple of the PlayStation brand thanks to Insomniac's adaptations and exclusivity in games like Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake in Fortnite Seems Inevitable
Epic Games' growing pull in the entertainment industry means no crossover is farfetched (beyond a notable absence of Nintendo properties), and Final Fantasy 7 Remake already has a stronger connection than a series like Halo associated more with Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass. Square Enix is keenly aware of Final Fantasy 7's cultural import, with characters like Cloud and Sephiroth already crossing into titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Those Final Fantasy characters and more also appear in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts franchise, which itself is a massive crossover with Disney properties.
As Kingdom Hearts' take on Cloud and Sephiroth already appear alongside series like Tron, which is also in Fortnite, it wouldn't be a huge shock to see them join the battle royale. The Epic Games Store-exclusive launch for Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC merely lines up the pins for an explosive marketing opportunity. Just as fans got to see Sephiroth defeat Galeem in his announcement trailer for Super Smash Bros., he could just as easily defeat characters like Spider-Man or dispel the hurricanes characterizing Fortnite's Chapter 3, Season 1.
Fortnite's crossovers have become more bold over time, with real-life cameos including Ariana Grande and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson even playing plot-relevant NPCs. Final Fantasy is one of the few huge non-Nintendo game franchises it has yet to explore, so something coinciding with Final Fantasy 7 Remake's PC release would make a lot of sense.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available on PS4 and PS5, and it releases for PC on December 16.
Source: Gamerant
