Universal debuts monster miniseries on Fortnite

The Future. Universal is premiering the first episode of its four-part We Will Be Monsters inside of Fortnite today. It’s the first major Hollywood studio to debut a new, original project inside of Fortnite, which may point to the game becoming a key distribution platform as it transforms into an entertainment destination.

Modern monsters
Universal is rolling out a playable red carpet today.

• It’s premiering the first episode of We Will Be Monsters, featuring the Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula, as part of the platform’s Shortnitemares Festival.
• The studio teamed with Epic Games to produce the original, animated short-form miniseries that reimagines the classic Universal monsters for a modern audience.
• The series, directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, The Mandalorian), makes most of the monsters multiethnic and moves the locations out of Europe to places such as Hong Kong, Morocco, and Los Angeles.

And, in classic Fortnite fashion, skins based on the series’ characters will be available to purchase after each episode. Episodes two through four will drop sometime next year.

Plug-in, sit back
Fortnite has quickly expanded its use beyond battle-royale gaming to a metaverse-like hub for all sorts of entertainment, including concerts from Travis Scott and Ariana Grande and screenings of Chris Nolan films. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood saw Fortnite as another screen that they needed to make content for.

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group president Abhijay Prakash says of the series: “This is us evolving and building our IP and content for different formats. We’re merging narrative storytelling with gameplay.” And having used Epic’s Unreal Engine to create the animation, it only made sense that Fortnite would be the venue of choice to premiere the show.