Fortnite is kicking off its largest sports partnership to-date with the world of soccer, or “football” as the sport is known as for the most part around the globe.
The Epic Games-owned battle royale game, with more than 350 million players worldwide, is partnering with 23 soccer clubs from across the globe and former Brazilian soccer star Pelé to bring the sport to Fortnite players with skins, emotes and a way to play soccer within the Fortnite world.
Starting on January 23, Fortnite players will have access to 10 different outfit variants that can be swapped to represent any of the 23 participating soccer clubs. The clubs span across five continents, from AC Milan in Italy and Melbourne City in Australia to Manchester City in England and Los Angeles FC in the US. Club partnerships were facilitated by Fortnite’s licensing representative IMG.
The soccer clubs will also host their own Fortnite tournaments with custom jerseys and rewards. Players can also visit Fortnite’s soccer-themed island in its Creative Hub to play others in a game of four-on-four soccer.
In addition, players can earn or purchase two new soccer emotes for their players, including one “Air Punch” emote inspired by Pelé, the forward who was labeled “the greatest” by FIFA. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics found that Pelé was the most successful top division scorer with 541 goals in 560 games, and his total of 1,279 goals in 1,363 games became a Guinness World Record.