It may have taken a series of lawsuits and some bad public relations, but it seems like Epic Games is finally teaming up with artists to collaborate on in-game dance moves. While Fortnite is massively successful and known for its gameplay, it is equally well known within the realm of pop-culture for certain emote dance moves which have been “inspired” by outside sources without being properly credited, leading to legal action.
Fresh Prince actor Alfonso Ribeiro and rapper 2 Milly have both created dances that are now in the game. For now, 2 Milly has dropped his lawsuit, but that may change. Now it seems that Epic is working with artists in a direct way to avoid similar problems in the future. YouFunnyB has tweeted that he collaborated with Epic to add his dance, the Billy Bounce, to the game.
This appears to be a first step in the right direction for Epic. With that said, it is curious that no news has developed with regards to the claims by Alfonso Ribeiro and 2 Milly, since there can be no denying the similarity between the alleged source material and its in-game emote. This is one dispute that should be settled quickly and going forward we can only hope to continue seeing Epic collaborate directly with artists.
While the spirit of the collaboration is a positive step forward, one of the most important points has been not addressed. YouFunnyB posted on Twitter later that, at the moment, there seems not to be any agreement about financial compensation. The artist says he is simply happy to have his dance in the game, but this is problematic for other artists.
Like most emotes in Fortnite, this new one costs approximately $5 worth of V-Bucks, the game’s premium currency. With Fortnite on track to rake in $3.5 billion in revenue this year, it seems ridiculous not to pay artists who collaborate on in-game items that that are sold for premium currency. All YouFunnyB seems to be getting from this deal is exposure, while Epic gets the cash.
It seems that Epic Games has only taken a smaller step than first thought in terms of treating artists more fairly.
Fortnite is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and on mobile devices.