On Saturday evening, December 14, a live event for the new Star Wars movie: The Rise of Skywalker took place in Fortnite. J.J. Abrams and Geoff Keighley were present, there was space action, a scene from the new movie and lightsabers for everyone at the end. Only the chance to show Darth Jar Jar in Fortnite was missed.
How did the event unfold? The live event in Fortnite had to be postponed by 10 minutes because the influx on the Fortnite servers was apparently so immense that many experienced login issues and the servers were overloaded. Therefore, the event was delayed.
However, at around 8:15 PM German time, the Millennium Falcon appeared over the skies of Fortnite and engaged in battle with some TIE Fighters.
Ultimately, the Falcon landed and Geoff Keighley appeared as a hologram, as it is legally required that he must host anything related to gaming: He already hosted Gamescom 2019 and the Video Game Awards a few days ago.
Keighley then talked to an anonymous stormtrooper who wanted to use his minutes in the spotlight to negotiate a bigger role in the Star Wars film.
Here is the scene from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Now an avatar of director J.J. Abrams appeared, who seemed especially impressed by how slim and cool he looked in the world of Fortnite.
Players were then given an opportunity to vote on which scene from the new Star Wars they wanted to see: One of the options was “Darth Jar Jar”.
However, the majority opted for the “Jedi Mind Trick” and so a scene featuring exactly this action was shown.
It was a relatively short clip, but many viewers seemed thrilled to “see a movie in a video game.”
There are now lightsabers in Fortnite
Ultimately, the event concluded with players being able to vote on their “favorite lightsaber color.” Players could choose between:
- Green
- Red
- Blue
- Purple
However, the vote turned out to be a ruse. Just as the voting was taking place, the event was interrupted by an attack from the Empire.
Suddenly, Palpatine could be heard, and all players held a lightsaber in their hands. The lightsaber matched the color they had voted for, and the slaughter began.
The special twist is that the lightsaber’s color also determines the type of lightsaber, so “Red” is Kylo Ren’s lightsaber with the “cross” on the hilt.
After that, it was said that even blasters would be available in Fortnite.
How to get a lightsaber in Fortnite, we explain in this article.
Live events in Fortnite are highlights of the game
Here’s what it’s about: Fortnite continues to do things that no other game does. Live events and crossover events have become an integral part of the game, and part of Epic Games’ marketing strategy.
After a DJ hosted a live concert in Fortnite and the game was taken offline for days with a black hole, this was the next highlight and the first live event in Fortnite Chapter 2.
It’s very possible that this live event has set a viewer record on Twitch and YouTube as well.
