The Fortnite community is actively debating on the new announcement’s strategy on Twitter. Twitter users are creating different theories as the only tweet shared is “the red cube you all know and love is back ❤️.” Though it seemed quite unremarkable, a picture of the red cube floating over a section of the map was attached to the tweet. However, the reply comments were more than overwhelming.
To Fortnite new users and the users that may be new to this game and do not recall the whole cube saga, I will try to explain. Back in season 5 of the very first chapter, a purple cube, which was later dubbed Kevin, appeared on the map. This cube had runes on the ground as it moved and would leave mystifying as well as mystical runes on the ground. It exploded for good while there was a lot of hype for it. The succession of events that followed was crazy. It’s now back, but this time it’s red, and the people have started calling it Kevin, Revin (red Kevin), or even Fred. The whole argument on naming is honestly comedic.
This thing is – some people don’t seem to be enjoying the hype. Some users appear to be trolling Epic Games. A user stated, “Fortnite running out of ideas,” which is okay, but bringing back iconic elements from older seasons is actually quite clever, isn’t it? There is an entire trend of nostalgia going on right now with the OG season and everything. Then there is another user yelling “YOUR GAME IS TRASH NOW. BRING BACK OG TEAM,” which feels a little over the top.
A lot more interesting for me to focus on is the Fortnite community division. The pre-share older Fortnite users are enjoying the lore references alongside the newer Fortnite users who are like “Im new gen, why is this cube so important?” which certainly is a genuine question. The cube is significant Fortnite lore because it marks a chapter of Fortnite in which there was a storyline, it was a mystery and there were no celebrity collabs or crossovers, it was just a celebrity-less magical cube doing its thing.
As I already said, the replies are filled with regular Fortnite stuff—people yammering about bugs (“Hey my rank isn’t showing at all and it’s been stuck at 36% all day?”), begging to bring back old skins (“Now bring Naruto back to the item shop! It’s been over 1000 days”), and even someone trying to pitch their vision of the game to Epic like they’re interviewing for a job. The chaos is so perfectly Fortnite community.
In addition, there is a whole side conversation about whether it is Kevin or some new cube. Some people’s insistence is on “Nivek” (Kevin backwards) or “Melvin” or just some completely different entity. The color change from purple to red is definitely important—in Fortnite lore, different colored cubes have had different properties and purposes. The red might indicate this one has different abilities or serves a different story purpose from the original Kevin.
What’s most strange is the level of engagement a single tweet received. There were thousands of likes and retweets and there were hundreds of comments and they ranged from joy, fury, confusion, and anger. It solely shows the Fortnite community—there are no facts, everyone has an opinion, nothing is agreed upon, but everyone watches.
This is intriguing because many people see it as the transition phase for Fortnite. There is the recent OG season which returned the classic map elements along with a return of Fortnite’s most iconic environmental story and Epic is extending into nostalgia while advancing the story. The red cube might build up to reveal something huge for the coming season or a major live event, which is what Epic is famous for.
Think about this: there are complaints, people perceive the games to be dead, but people are still watching. Even while they believe the game is absolute trash, they are still engaging over the name to this digital cube. That’s the Fortnite’s thing. Although people claim to hate the game, they are still there. Instead, they are checking the tweets, playing the game, and digging the storyline.
It doesn’t even matter whether you are team Kevin, Revin, or Fred, you are baffled about why a glowing red cube in a video game draws everyone’s attention, it’s quite evident that Epic is an excellent marketer. The hype generated from an announcement like this is rare. It’s a cube, a red one, a mysterious, magical one, and it will cause mayhem on the island once again. I’m admittedly hopeful because I feel the team will ice the cake this time.
