Fortnite leakers have given away a sneak peek of the new in-game mobile play with a South Park background lobby that will be included in the game. The South Park lobby has already started a discussion among players with most of them complimenting the visual style and trying to guess the future implications of this crossover between the two brands. The addition shows that Epic Games regular practice of bringing characters from the major pop culture properties into the Fortnite experience is still going on, thus creating the scene before even matching the players.
So, you are scrolling and suddenly – a South Park living room in the flat, paper-cutout style is a Fortnite lobby! It’s unbelievable, right? ShiinaBR, who is sort of an oracle regarding this kind of stuff, just uploaded the picture and the whole gaming community had a reaction right away. And not only “oh that’s cool” type of thoughts but huge and extremely deep speculations coming up. Because with Fortnite, nothing is just a cosmetic. It is a total atmosphere, it is a statement, it may be even a little hint for something bigger? Let us have a closer look.
The first thing one can say is the appearance gets a positive feedback from the audience. Really, really, the audience loves it so much that they can’t have enough of it. A user by the name of TasteLabsAI said that “south park visuals translate shockingly well into 3d when they keep the flat logic intact.” And he is right! The picture makes it look like you are able to reach inside the monitor and pull out either Cartman or Kyle as they got that typical cardboard-cutout-on-a-stick look in the Fortnite engine. It does not try to be hyper-realistic, it is merely… South Park. And that is exactly why it works so great.
But the situation gets tricky here. The comments are not just about aesthetics. They are not, they are saying what this implies. FUTURUM GAMING was right on target when saying “lobby spaces matter more than people think. they set the tone before a single action happens.” So true! You enter the lobby, you are in Stan’s room and your mind is already in Colorado mode even before you get into the queue. It’s psychological warfare, though, you know, in a playful manner.
And then came the speculation from the train of thought full blast. One user, edddy1270, was like “like no way they just made a makeover and not an actual south park poi with actual south park npcs walking around.” Right?? That is the main question. Is this just a nice scenery for your character to be in or is it the first sign of a full South Park Point of Interest? Just imagine, you could land in South Park, Colorado, raiding Cartman’s fridge, joining a snowball fight on the playground… the possibilities are kind of insane.
Now players are thinking about the other South Park video games. User CrazyRuckusN64 referred back to a comment saying “facts with all this effort there is no way they aren’t planning another south park game.” And really? That sounds reasonable. Ubisoft, the maker of the fabulous ‘The Fractured But Whole’, is very close to Epic and their partnership is really good. Fortnite is the primary hype generator. A new lobby background could very well be the subtlest soft launches of the next game announcement. Let me just put that out there!
Of course, and as usual, the gamers turned the reveal into a wishlist of potential crossovers. The comments are full of “WHERE IS PERSONA?” and “Where’s Metal Gear wave 2?” and even one single “Where is fallout” among the noise. It’s a bit of a chaos, but a fun one. This tells that players are a part of this ever-expanding Fortnite universe and are always on the lookout for the next big thing. They notice that South Park is in the spotlight and they immediately say “okay cool, but what about my favorite thing?”
So, what is the take-away? We are left with a super attractive new lobby that is much more than just a beautiful image. It is a caleidoscope of moods, a starter for conversations, and maybe a teaser for future developments. Fortnite has always been the one who can masterfully represent itself as the living and breathing pop culture hub, and the one-of-a-kind wild energy of South Park is just the perfect match. Whether it is a new game or simply a cool spot to chill at while your squad is getting ready, it’s once again a win for Epic’s “everything is possible here” philosophy. It’s obvious that the players are here, they are ready to meme and speculate until the next big leak comes out. The merger implies that the lobby is just an opening act for whatever, and the gaming community is always ready for the next big thing on their PlayStation or Xbox.
