The British Army may have canceled its Fortnite recruitment campaign

The British Army may have canceled its Fortnite recruitment campaign

by Danny Craig · 1/22/24, 12:40 PM
The British Army may have canceled its Fortnite recruitment campaign
British Army

After several influencers partnered with the British Army on a promotional campaign featuring a custom Fortnite map, it appears that the livestream has been canceled due to backlash against the recruitment drive.

The details:

  • Last week, the British Army announced on X that it would host a livestream on January 24 featuring British influencers Yung Filly, Elz The Witch, King Kenny, and Talia Mar competing in a new custom-made Fortnite experience. This was accompanied by a trailer (via @peacemaket71) that showed Fortnite characters running through a military assault course and firing the battle royale's more realistic weapons.

  • The marketing campaign drew immediate criticism, with many condemning the Army for using Fortnite to target children in its recruitment drive and calling out the influencers who supported the move. Although the Army explicitly stated that the event was "age-gated to users 18+," it was clear that minors would still watch on Twitch.

  • Some pointed out that, while the British Army stated that the campaign was "not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Games," it is still against the Fortnite Island Creator Rules to "promote enrollment in the military." When asked for a comment by Eurogamer, Epic said the promotion is still "undergoing moderation.”

  • The aforementioned posts have now been removed from the Army Jobs X account, as have all mentions of the event on the accounts of the influencers involved. It is unclear whether the planned livestream will still take place, but it appears that the entire event may have been canceled.

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