The community is very much divided on this new skin. Fortnite will be giving the players a new Tron skin based on Jared Leto’s character in the upcoming movie Tron: Ares. There are three variants of the skin featuring options for helmets or a version without the helmet. The controversies surrounding Jared Leto have given the gaming community an interesting choice: some say that it’s a nice addition, some feel it is a huge misstep on Epic Games’ part.
So, what is this skin all about? Talking about origin, a leak from a trusted source says that the new Tron Ares skin will come in three styles: full helmet, clear helmet, and no helmet. Those are some good customizations for sure, especially compared to some past Fortnite collaborations. This design will look absolutely sick with the classic Tron style, complete with glowing neon lines that will really make it pop in-game, especially during night matches or in the darker zones of the map.
This did not last long, as the controversies of Jared Leto, an actor for the character of the new Tron movie, have reached a boiling point over the past two years. The backlash soon ensued, with players chiming in almost immediately about how Leto was accused of some seriously dark stuff; one user just outright stated “an alleged sex offender” while another said “James Gunn has publicly called him out for going after underage girls”. Yikes. That is just not the vibe most gamers would want in their favorite battle royale.
The reactions coming in through the comments just went crazy. Some gamers really liked the skin, with one commenting: “TRON ARES SKIN with three variants is awesome news! Customization with or without the helmet always makes a skin better.” Another gamer put in an opinion saying, “As much as I dont care for Jared Leto, I think this skin already sounds WAY better then the previous Tron skins.” So, the design is actually going well for the Tron fans.
And then you have the other side. Many comments expressed disgust at the very idea that Epic would ever choose to feature Leto at all. “We need to stop giving this creep a platform,” quipped one; “Nobody should buy it so it’s not supporting a cultist clown,” said another. The word “pedo” came up a handful of times as well, which is… intense. There were even comparisons made to another controversial skin, Sabrina, with one person dubbing this the “second paedophile to get a Fortnite skin”.
The interesting thing now is because the community is split. Some are all about the cosmetic and don’t really care about the actor behind it, while others are going to take this as a moral issue. Like one person said, “Don’t care give us info on Jason,” clearly more interested in collabs to come, while someone else brought up, “KPDH couldn’t get one, and were giving Jared weirdo a skin with 3 different variants?” Fair point on representation priorities.
Thus, the customizations should be great. Helmet on, helmet off, clear helmet-all these will give the player more options than most crossover skins. Usually just one look, but here you’ll get basically three different styles from a single purchase. The no-helmet version is really cool because you get to see all the facial details and the entire design, which is a bonus for people who want to showcase the full character look.
There are some fairly technical comments on why existing Tron skins can’t get additional color styles, with one user explaining, “All they would have to do is just copy and paste the code they made for the current style and adjust it to make it a second style,” showing just how deep some players really are in the Fortnite cosmetic ecosystem.
The timing of this leak is interesting as well, with all the questions about whether itll drop on the same day as the movie. That is super typical for promotional collaborations, so probably yes. Tron: Ares doesnt have a firm release date yet, but its slated for an initial release sometime in early 2025, so this skin is in for a long wait after it finally finds its way to the item shop.
Imagine the drama this one skin could start prior to being officially announced in the box. Epic Games haven’t even confirmed this exists yet, and people are ready to either boycott it or defend it. Typical Fortnite community- never a dull moment. Some cool dudes over there were also talking about other rumored collabs like Jason Voorhees and Scooby Doo, so folks are watching several possible future skins.
All in all, this situation goes to show how the greater divide exists between art versus artist debates that exist in gaming and cosmetic culture. Some gamers will buy any awesome-looking skin regardless of who it is thrown with, while others will deny it based on the controversial nature of the person attached to it in some way. The design of this skin, with three variants and the classic Tron-ness, should have been quite lovely. It should have been yet another exciting announcement, but with Jared Leto slapped onto it, in a way, the spark was sucked out of the whole hype train.
Things will clear up when the actual release hits. Will players speak with their wallets and put a “no” on the forehead of this one? Or will this be so epic that all the bickering will dry up? Given that the player base of Fortnite is almost satanic, this will surely hit the item shop too. The fact that people are even talking about this means they care about more than just one flashy look. And, ladies and gentlemen, that is the twist; the topic has shifted away from “does it look cool” to “should we support this,” and honestly, it’s fun to observe.
Epic Games haven’t even confirmed this exists yet, and people are ready to either boycott it or defend it. Typical Fortnite community- never a dull moment. Some cool dudes over there were also talking about other rumored collabs like Jason Voorhees and Scooby Doo, so folks are watching several possible future skins on PlayStation and Xbox.
