Marry the ‘Fortnite’: Lady Gaga finally sets Epic Games entry as ‘Festival’ headliner
In 2019, Lady Gaga wondered, “What’s fornight.” Five years later, it seems she knows more about the popular Epic Games battle royale than just how to properly spell it.
The “Rain on Me” and “Bad Romance” superstar will finally make her “Fortnite” debut after years of fan demand, Epic Games confirmed to The Times on Wednesday. Starting Thursday, Lady Gaga will be the face of “Fortnite Festival,” a spinoff rhythm game that launched late last year.
Correcting her viral 2019 tweet, “*fortnite,” Lady Gaga first teased the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. She shared a photo of an avatar bearing a striking resemblance to her pink, chrome “Chromatica” look.
Epic Games, the video game developer behind the popular online game “Fortnite,” is laying off 830 employees, the company announced Thursday. The company is also divesting Bandcamp.
In “Fortnite Festival,” gamers perform songs of their choice by hitting notes right on time — much like the music game “Guitar Hero.” Epic Games acquired original “Guitar Hero” developer and “Rock Band” studio Harmonix in 2021.
With its second “Festival” chapter, “Fortnite” seeks to celebrate Lady Gaga’s iconic fashion and music. Players can purchase two costumes — or “skins” — inspired by the “Marry the Night” singer and her futuristic 2020 album. Other Lady Gaga-inspired “Fortnite” accessories include a guitar, a microphone and a keytar, and dancing emotes.
“Fornite Festival” will further expand its music library to include Lady Gaga’s songs, including “Born This Way,” “Rain on Me” and “Poker Face,” as playable tracks. Her “Bad Romance” was already featured in the inaugural chapter of “Fortnite Festival,” headlined by The Weeknd. This season, players will perform songs of their choice on a “Chromatica”-inspired stage, Fortnite said. Lady Gaga’s “Fortnite Festival” takeover will end April 22.
The Grammy-winning performer is the latest music superstar to come to the world of “Fortnite.” In 2021, her “Rain on Me” collaborator Ariana Grande held a virtual in-game concert, taking a page from Travis Scott’s trippy display for coronavirus shutdown-era music lovers. Silk Sonic duo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, Eminem and J Balvin are other artists who have lent their likeness to “Fortnite” players.
It’s been four years since Lady Gaga last released an album of her own — but that may soon change. Last week she shared photos and video of herself in a studio. “There’s a rat in the studio 🐀,” she captioned one Instagram pic.
“No I’m not making a rock album,” she captioned another picture. In the photo, she can be seen holding a guitar and sitting in front of a microphone.
While trying to fight off activist shareholders, Disney’s Bob Iger announced a $1.5-billion investment in the ‘Fortnite’ maker that could say a lot about the Mouse House’s future.
Clearly, new Lady Gaga music is on the way — it’s just a matter of when. This year already seems a promising one for female musicians; Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, among others, have new albums on the horizon.
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