A leading Fortnite creator studio has set its sights on the wider world of media and entertainment, using a Fortnite skin launch and comic book release as a springboard.
Today, June 11, Epic Games released the latest skin in Fortnite’s Icon series, a series of in-game skins honoring celebrities from both traditional entertainment and the creator space, from Travis Scott to Cody “Clix” Conrod. Today’s featured skin isn’t based on a celebrity; it’s The Goat, a character from the popular Fortnite island Go Goated! Zone Wars.
The Go Goated skin launch represents the first time Fortnite’s Icon series has featured a character or intellectual property native to the user-generative content space. It’s the result of a collaboration between Epic Games and Go Goated developer studio Good Gamers that has been in the works for nearly a year, according to Good Gamers partnerships lead Zack Billingham in an interview with GamesBeat.
“There aren’t a lot of standout IPs that I think you can really build, looking at what’s popular on the platform, other than Go Goated,” Billingham said.
For Good Gamers, the Go Goated skin launch is the beginning of something bigger — evidence that the studio’s homegrown intellectual properties can succeed outside the games in which they were born. Although the skin launch is still located inside the Epic Games ecosystem, it puts The Goat on the same level as a multitude of prominent virtual celebrities and intellectual properties like Hatsune Miku, the band Gorillaz, and the protagonists of KPop Demon Hunters.
Good Gamers is already leaning into its Icon skin moment by adapting the world of Go Goated to other forms of media — including an original comic book published on May 28. Authored by Good Gamers community director and developer Ryan “Toaster” Borges, the 100-page book explains the backstory of Go Goated! Zone Wars. The comic book, which is titled “Ventura: Book 1: Adventure Awaits,” is currently available for purchase on Amazon, and is also available for free in digital form on its official website.
“For people, whether they play Go Goated or not, this introduces them to the IP or gets them more invested, so it’s pretty exciting,” Billingham said.
Epic Games is supporting the rollout of The Goat’s Icon skin with a dedicated banner on Fortnite’s Discover page, with a live event intended to drive awareness and interest in the launch. Good Gamers will also be promoting the skin — and handing out copies of the original comic book — at Unreal Fest in Chicago next week.
As UGC creator studios like Good Gamers look to expand their footprint beyond their native platforms to stake a claim to the wider media world, they will have to surmount the challenge of ownership. Building inside a platform like Fortnite or Roblox could mean creators don’t fully own or control their IP, according to Joanne Redfern, the founder and chief executive officer of the digital brand and IP consultancy Futrhood Media. Narrative depth is also a challenge, per Redfern, who pointed out that many popular UGC experiences have addicting core game loops but insufficient narrative lore to justify cross-adaptation.
“Fandom now precedes franchise, that’s the switch, and why I believe UGC platforms will spawn the next major franchise. Traditional studios spent years and millions building audience awareness before an IP earned its first revenue,” Redfern said in a written interview with GamesBeat. “UGC creators reverse that model. They build the audience first, prove engagement, build loyalty and trust and then expand outward. Go Goated! comes with fandom embedded — and when you own fandom then merchandise, film and TV options etc become lower risk and higher potential.”