Disney invested more than $1.5 billion into Epic Games to help create synergies between Fortnite and the company’s lucrative theme park business, and now how that integration works is coming to light.
As revealed at Disney’s D23 event this weekend, Fortnite is integrating with the Smuggler’s Run ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. For anyone just catching up, Smugglers Run is an interactive motion simulator attraction that has six people piling into the Millennium Falcon as they work together to collect crates for the fan-favorite pirate, Hondo. With this new Fortnite collaboration, those crates will now unlock content in the game.
Connected to this, Fortnite is adding a new Fortnite island called Smugglers Gambit, which takes place around Mersa Veta Station on the planet Ord Ryla.
“You’ll team up with friends, take on co-op missions, battle pirates and Imperial remnants, encounter dangerous wildlife, unlock new gear, and build your reputation across the Outer Rim,” reads a line from the description. “And because this is Hondo we’re talking about, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wonderfully right… or spectacularly wrong.”
People need to connect their Epic Games and MyDisney accounts for this to work. This integration is already live, having launched on Sunday, August 16 at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. One of the first perks is the Forsworn Trooper Outfit, which you can see in the image above.
Disney’s CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is a big believer in video games and was personally spearheading the company’s investment and collaboration with Epic Games. Beyond this new partnership, D’Amaro has said one day people may be able to buy Disney Cruise Line tickets inside Fortnite or watch a Disney movie.
Additionally, Disney is said to be working on an Arc Raiders-style game to be released in Fortnite.