The best Fortnite collabs, ranked

Whether you love licensed skins or not, there’s no denying that Fortnite collaborations bring a lot of money and attention to the game. Collaborations are already plentiful, and Epic doesn’t seem to be slowing down either. Some fans argue that they would rather see original skins than yet another superhero. On the other hand, it’s still pretty awesome to queue up as your favorite characters or even take part in events that seem almost too awesome for Fortnite. While some collabs simply release iconic skins in the shop, others have come with in-game events and new weapons. Of all the Fortnite collaborations to date, here are some of the most memorable.

10. Stranger Things

Stranger Things was one of Fortnite’s earlier collaborations, but it still holds up compared to others. With so many collaborations, it’s difficult for Epic to really throw much into the equation aside from a few skins. Stranger Things stands out from the rest as this collaboration brought some map changes in addition to skins for Chief Hopper and the Demagogon.

This season of Fortnite, they introduced the Mega Mall, which was quite reminiscent of Starcourt Mall from Stranger Things, but with a futuristic twist. In the Mega Mall, players could visit Scoops Ahoy, which looked almost exactly like the one where Robin and Steve worked on the show. There were also some spooky portals upside down on the map, the only downside was that we couldn’t actually enter them.

9. Borderlands

Recently, Fortnite has been experimenting with an anime art style for cosmetics, but one of the first massive cell shading changes actually happened during the Borderlands event. This event came with a Clap Trap skin and even brought Pandora from Borderlands to the Fortnite map.

Fortnite was Pandora in its own bubble and once you entered it felt like you were actually playing Borderlands as they mimicked the art style in minute detail. Not only was this part of the map different, but any Fortnite skin would have had a different shade over them once they entered Pandora. As of now, this is still the only time Fortnite has ever created part of a map with a completely different artistic shading, making the Borderlands collaboration unique enough for 9th place.

8. Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball arrived in Fortnite with two skins, an events tab with quests players must complete to unlock rewards, a few changes to the map, and a new weapon. While there have been some collaborations with other anime, there has been a lot more hype surrounding Dragon Ball along with more content.

For starters, we really got a chance to fight Dragon Ball style by picking up the Kamehameha, which fired a powerful beam of energy that was just as devastating as Comet Azur on Elden Ring. Players could also use the Nimbus cloud to move faster around the map. Bounty boards were replaced by versus boards, in which two warriors’ locations were revealed for a 1v1 each other. Not only that, but the Kame house was also added to the map, along with the NPC Bulma, who would give players some helpful items. Son Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, and Beerus have all been added to the item shop, which is quite a handful of skins to collaborate on.

7.Batman

Batman is undoubtedly one of DC’s most popular heroes, so it was quite a shock to see the character finally brought to Fortnite after the plethora of Marvel heroes. The special thing about this collaboration was that he also came with Catwoman.

Of course, they couldn’t bring the two iconic heroes alone, so they replaced Tilted Town with Gotham City. Gotham was full of Batman Easter eggs, like the Wayne Enterprises Tower, GCPD cars everywhere, and the Monarch Theater where Bruce Wayne lost his parents. Much like the Borderlands collaboration, Gotham City was also in its own bubble, and as soon as you entered it, night automatically fell. There were special sound effects like police sirens that really gave it that Gotham feel. Not only that, players could use the bat glider however they wanted, making for even more exciting battles.

6. Indiana Jones

Fortnite might have a reputation for being a no-brainer, but the fact that they had Indiana Jones as their secret C3S3 skin proves that they have a solid older fan base too. Overall, Indiana Jones was one of the more unexpected collaborations. Other classic films like Alien, Ghostbusters, and Robocop have also received collaborations, but Fortnite really went all out for Indy.

Indiana Jones received not one but two different styles for his cosmetics; one from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the second from Temple of Doom. His addition to the Battle Pass also included two new map locations clearly themed after his films called The Temple and The Ruins. There was a pretty fun mini-game in The Temple where players first had to solve a puzzle to open the structure and then collect a special artifact while avoiding traps. After the artifact is collected, the player would then have to run away from a rolling boulder that was triggered. You really feel like you’re in an Indiana Jones adventure.

5. Avengers: Endgame

Fortnite’s collaboration with Avengers: Endgame was a big moment, partly because Endgame was the biggest movie of the year. With Marvel preparing for Endgame for so long, there was already a lot of hype surrounding the Avengers vs. Thanos battle.

No one expected fans to take on the Warlord in Fortnite as well. Fortnite’s endgame collaboration brought with it a new mode where players could wield Thor’s Stormbreaker, Hawkeye’s bow, Iron Man’s repulsors, and Captain America’s shield. Battlers were split into two teams, The Avengers vs. Thanos and the Chitari. One player was randomly chosen to be Thanos, and of course he was incredibly OP. This game mode was super fun and certainly the highlight of the collaboration, but two Marvel skins were also released for Black Widow and Star-Lord.

4. Marshmello

It would be disrespectful to talk about the best Fortnite collabs and not mention the first concert ever held on Fortnite. This event brought millions of players to the game and was truly a unique experience. Fortnite has held many concerts since this one, but the Marshmello showcase still stands out because it was a live concert while many of the others weren’t.

Marshmello’s Fortnite concert had everyone queuing with their friends for the game and really helped establish Fortnite as more than just a battle royale, but a true community. While dancing on Fortnite was typically only done after an elimination, this brought a new purpose to emotes, allowing players to use their favorite dances throughout the event. There was also a Marshmello skin and emotes in the shop that rocked so many people even after the concert was over.

3.Ariana Grande

After the Marshmello concert, it’s easy to see how much Fortnite has improved. Concerts have ranged from simply observing an avatar on stage to full blown events that take players off the Fortnite map.

The Ariana Grande concert started with some mini-games in which players could compete and then defeat a giant monster while fighting for a high score. We also got to bounce around in a fluffy, colorful world that looked like something out of a Dr. seuss After that, everyone was transported into space to see a gigantic Ariana Grande. Players traveled through space to then see Ariana swinging in the clouds as she rode around them on flying llamas, which was truly unlike anything we’ve ever seen on Fortnite before. This event also came with an Ariana Grande skin that has two editing styles and honestly both styles are probably the most glamorous Fortnite skins to date.

2. Star Wars

Star Wars crashed into Fortnite ahead of the release of Rise of the Skywalker, with skins for Rey, Finn, and a Sith Trooper. These were the first of many Star Wars skins that came later in the game. One of the most surprising aspects of the Star Wars collaboration is that it also came with a live event, featuring director JJ Abrams, actor Ben Schwartz, and journalist Geoff Knightley.

This event was different from some others as we got to see a scene from Rise of the Skywalker before the movie came out. After the scene, players were asked to choose their preferred lightsaber color, which they could then use in combat after the event. This was the first time lightsabers were added to Fortnite, and they’re still one of the most fun limited-time weapons in the game. Fans love the lightsabers so much that people are constantly asking to bring them into the store as pickaxes.

1st Nexus War

Fortnite Nexus War, also known as the Chapter 2 Season 2 Battle Pass, consisted entirely of Marvel collectibles. While this wasn’t the first time Fortnite had licensed characters in the Battle Pass, it was the first and only time the entire pass was licensed. This might have been overwhelming to some, but it was certainly something to talk about. Fans could unlock heroes like Thor, Iron Man, Groot, Storm, Mystique, She-Hulk, and Wolverine.

In addition to the Battle Pass, the Nexus War Pass brought many map changes, including a Sentinel Graveyard, Jessica Walter’s Office, and Doom’s Domain. Players could defeat Doctor Doom and his Doom Bots as a mini-game, which then allowed them to use the villain’s Mystic Bomb and Gauntlets. Players could also destroy Stark Drones, giving them access to superhero powers like Groot’s shield, Iron Man’s repulsor gauntlets, Thor’s hammer, and more. Finally, the season ended with an interactive event where everyone could help the Avengers fight Galactus. It was hard to choose between Nexus War and Star Wars for first place, but when it comes down to it, Nexus War brought a lot more cosmetics to the table and saw all the players band together to throw tomatoes in Galactus’ face, while he tried to eat us was an unforgettable experience.