Ninja gets his own Fortnite skin
It was a long time coming, but Epic Games finally announced Richard Tyler "Ninja" Blevins will receive his own skin in Fortnite, which will be the first official Fortnite skin for a content creator and/or streamer and will set a precedent for streamers and content creators going forward.
Richard Tyler Blevins, more commonly referred as his online alias – Ninja, is one of the most well-known online personalities and without a doubt the most recognisable name when it comes to Fortnite. Ninja has been heavily involved with Epic Games' prized battle royale game for over two years and it's fair to say that Ninja himself helped Fortnite grow to the heights it has reached in 2019 by promoting the game via his streams and YouTube videos.
Ninja exploded into the scene in 2018 when he streamed himself playing Fortnite with Travis Scott, Drake and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The stream amassed well over 600,000 current-viewers to break Twitch record for the most-watched non-event stream in history, yet that was not his sole feat as a Fortnite content creator. Since he appeared in the scene, Ninja has grown to be not only the biggest Fortnite personality, but also one of the biggest personalities in the gaming scene, and while he failed to see much success in his attempt at Fortnite World Cup, Ninja has earned himself a status of Fortnite icon.
Due to his popularity and his contribution to the game, Ninja has been asking Epic Games to create an in-game Ninja Fortnite skin for the last two years and while it seemed like it would never happen, Epic Games finally decided it's time to take a step forward and gave Ninja what he so dearly wanted.
https://twitter.com/Ninja/status/1217463951044366337
"It happened, it's official, we finally got a Ninja skin, in the game, in Fortnite, we did it! It took two and a half years, I streamed [Fortnite] 12 hours a day minimum, accumulated billions of views on YouTube and streaming platforms playing Fortnite, having the best time of my gaming career and life," said Ninja on his stream shortly after the skin was officially announced.
"It's been an incredible journey. Looking back I don't even know how it all happened… but realistically I know it; I've been hardworking and putting the time in."
The new outfit will come with numerous customization options. The players will get to choose four different looks, which will mostly affect the appearance of their character's head, where Ninja's face can be fully visible or partially covered. The outfit will also offer an option to turn it into a wraith-like silhouette with glowing blue eyes.
In addition to the Ninja skin, Epic Games also decided to add a few Ninja-themed cosmetics, which includes his famous "Pon Pon" dance and katanas – both associated with Ninja, which the players will be able to purchase and use with their characters.
The new skin alongside the dance animation and katanas will be available to purchase from Thursday, January 16 to Sunday, January 19, for an undisclosed amount, however, more information about the skins and cosmetics should become available shortly.
The Ninja skin was released as a part of "Icon Series", which suggests Epic Games are working towards releasing more skins dedicated to content creators, streamers or pro players.
While the Ninja Fortnite skin can be seen simply as another in-game cosmetic item, it's much more than that. Epic Games have once more shown they are one of the best organizations when it comes to releasing ground-breaking announcements and showing their support for individuals who supported their game and helped Fortnite grow to become one of the biggest and most popular games of our time.
