The hype around the Area 51 raid has trickled over into the gaming world: Fortnite is about to get a new alien skin just in time for with the September 20 event.
Fortnite player s1l0x uncovered the new skin, or character outfit, which looks just like an alien — complete with an Area 51 badge on its chest and sleeve. It’s not clear when the so-called “Traveler” skin will be released, but it looks like it’s all set for the Area 51 raid this week.
The Area 51 Facebook event called, ‘’Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us’’ has captured the interest of 1.5 million people, and 2.1 million have RSVPed as attending the event. The event’s description reads, “We will all meet up in Rural Nevada and coordinate our parties. If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let’s see them aliens.”
https://twitter.com/s1l0x/status/1173808367686406145?s=20
While the event has gone viral, it’s extremely unlikely 2.5 million people will descend on the government’s most top-secret location. But that still hasn’t stopped Fortnite from cashing in on the joke event’s mass popularity.
Fortnite is known for including pop culture and current events references within the game. It’s included dance moves made famous by Snoop Dog and Seinfeld, licensed NFL football jerseys, and even had a Thanos skin to celebrate Avengers: Infinity War. Some of these inclusions got the game into some legal trouble, like last December when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Alfonso Ribeiro sued Fortnite for allegedly stealing the “Carlton Dance.”
The game has offered players popular skins in the past like the Skull Trooper, a Bigfoot skin, a Marshmello skin based on the popular electronic music DJ, and more. Some are only available for a limited time as part of an event or holiday. As such, some of the best skins aren’t even available anymore.
Aside from the alien skin that was discovered, eagle-eyed gamers also found a female version of the Love Ranger Skin.
Fortnite skins can cost players anywhere from 800 to 2,000 in V-Bucks (virtual currency), depending on the skin’s rarity. In U.S. dollars, that equals about $8-$24.
Digital Trends reached out to Epic Games to confirm the new skin designs and when players can expect to see then in the game, and we’ll update this story once we hear back.
