FORTNITE fanatics can now play as the game’s biggest star thanks to new purchasable “skin”.
The in-game outfit is styled after gaming behemoth Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who makes millions streaming his Fortnite sessions to fans around the world.
Fortnite star Ninja now has his own playable character in the Battle Royale-style shooter
Skins are cosmetics that gamers can kit out their character with while playing the Battle Royale-style shooter.
Available from Thursday, Ninja’s skin gives your character spiked blue hair, a blue jacket with a hood, and black trousers.
There are four variants, each of which are available on creator Epic Games’ online store.
“I’ve dreamt of having a skin in Fortnite since I started playing the game,” Ninja, 28, wrote in a tweet announcing the update.
Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins is known for his Fortnite skills and colourful haircuts
“Today, my dream becomes reality.”
The skins are available from January 16 through January 19. They’ll hit the Epic Store at 4pm PT / 7pm ET / 11.59pm GMT.
You’ll have to buy them, though Ninja did not disclose how much each will cost.
In his tweet, Ninja provided a code “NINJA!” to use when buying the skins. It’s not clear what kind of discount the code unlocks.
The Ninja skin boasts four variants
Epic Games said Ninja’s skin would be the first of many collaborations bringing real-world celebs into the game.
It already has plans to add two other gaming personalities, Loserfruit and TheGrefg, in future.
They’ll be part of Epic’s “Icon Series”, which will eventually see creators from “games, music and entertainment” added as playable skins.
Ninja arguably the world’s biggest Fortnite star had a busy 2019.
The Chicago resident signed a lucrative contract with Microsoft to stream exclusively on its platform, Mixer.
The deal, announced in August, is worth a reported 30.9million over three to five years, or up to 10.3million a year.
Ninja amassed over 14million followers on rival streaming platform Twitch owned by Amazon before he made the surprise switch.
The gamer also signed a multi-year clothing deal with Adidas last year. He released his first line of trainers in December.
Companies are betting big on competitive gaming also known as “esports” a rapidly growing industry worth billions.
Streaming sites like Twitch and Mixer rake in cash via paid subscriptions and advertising revenue.
Twitch, owned by Amazon, boasts 15million daily users and is worth an estimated 3billion.
The Sun recently revealed that Fortnite’s biggest stars make more money than top Premier League footballers like Harry Kane and Virgil van Dijk.
In other news, it emerged last month that Ninja earns 10million a year.
We recently revealed the secret ways that Fortnite is getting kids hooked.
Epic Games boss Rod Fergusson last year admitted he tried to cancel the hit game before it was released.
What do you think of the Ninja skins? Let us know in the comments!
