Fortnite, Pele and elite football clubs collaborate

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As global fanbases shelter from the pandemic at home, a collaboration between Epic Games – the creator of the video game Fortnite – and the world of football has opened up another online competitive arena.
“Fortnite has been around for over three years now,” Nate Nanzer, Head of Global Partnerships at Epic Games, told CNN Sport.

“We’ve spent a lot of time listening to our players and talking to them about what they want to see next.

“Suddenly, global football, football is the sport we hear from our players who want to come to the game.”

The desire has now been fulfilled as 23 clubs across five continents, including Manchester City, Juventus and AC Milan, enter into a partnership with Fortnite to make the first official football craic officially bring the game.
“This is a real launch,” Nanzer said. “We have clubs from the Premier League, from Serie A, from MLS, League J in Japan, the league in Australia, all over the world.

“This is just the beginning of what we want to do in football. We’re so excited to get this into the game and we can’t wait to see where it goes over time.”

LEARN: Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubles the resurgence of AC Milan’s three-point lead at the top of Serie A.
Last year, 350 million registered users played Fortnite.

Great players

In addition to new skins for players to use the popular video game, football clubs are also ready to host their own special Fortnite tournaments with very custom jerseys and other prizes up for grabs.

Another big figure from the football world is the involvement of the Brazilian legend Pele. His longtime club Santos FC will feature in the game alongside his iconic celebration and Pele Cup specials.

“Who better to start a world football program than one of the greatest players ever to live?” Nanzer said.

“We are delighted to be able to bring Pele’s famous air punch celebration into the game.

“We also have an exciting competition that we are about to run where any Fortnite player can get a name and a competition to try and win both the outerwear and the Pele emote early, before it is launched. free. “

The desire for world-famous football venues to collaborate with an online video game, where football is not played, lies in its youthful audience and its unique marketing opportunity. it delivers.

It coincides with the strategy introduced by the new owners of AC Milan, repositioning the brand to be more attractive and attractive to fans.

“We are proud to be innovative and progressive,” Casper Stylsvig, Chief Financial Officer for AC Milan, told CNN Sport.

“We believe there is a clear link between sports entertainment, esports and gaming.

“That’s why we need to be in this area too, we need to be relevant to our fans and aspiring fans and especially also to attract the youngest audience.

“Some of the younger listeners love gaming, they like Tik-Tok.”

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an avid Fortnite player.
As a game with 350 million registered users last year, Fortnite represents a huge reach potential for sports clubs and just reinforces the opportunities to stimulate digital markets at a time when people are spending more online time.

“It’s very clear that this is the way forward where we are moving,” said Stylsvig.

“The digital space is vibrant, and we need to be just as dynamic in how we engage with our global fan base of almost 450 million, which is ubiquitous. all over the world.

“Using the digital space is a unique opportunity for the brand to reach out to fans who can not only attend a game in the stadium, but also on those special occasions. “

Fortnite has previously partnered with the NFL, Marvel and Warner Bros., using a mutually beneficial advertising design.

“Everything we do at Fortnite is very high quality, very collaborative,” Nanzer explains.

“There is no advertising in Fortnite, there is no one who has ever paid us money to be in the game or anything like that.

“It’s about doing things that are convincing to our partners’ brand and to Fortnite. It’s really about creating collaborations that add a ton of value to both our players and for the fans of our partners. “

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Clubs from five continents, including Italian giants AC Milan, will be represented in the video game.

In doing so, there is hope that fans can expand both the traditional sport and the video game, and continue to compete with each other in a new arena.

“I see a world in the future where you are a sports fan and jump into Fortnite, your favorite sport will be represented in some way, and you will be able to be the best team. you prefer to represent it, “Nanzer said.

“You’re going to be able to engage in different types of play and different kinds of experiences. So I think the sky is the highest level that this can go on.”

Shannon Liao reported.

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