“What’s fortnight?” Gaga tweeted, elliciting numerous responses. One reply, from blue-haired Fortnite streamer Ninja, asked Gaga to play with him. “who are you,” was Gaga’s response. Fast forward three years, and both Fortnite and Lady Gaga are back in the news, as fans piece together evidence that some form of collaboration or concert is indeed in the works. Eagle-eyed fans have noted the artwork for Fortnite’s current Pride event - above - shows characters in poses from Gaga’s Bad Romance music video - and additionally, the artist is featured on the event’s radio station. In recent years, Fortnite has taken pains to license its music and choreography following earlier emote lawsuits. The suggestion here, fans say, is that Gaga is certainly onboard in some capacity. Next up, a datamined emote to be released in the future has been found, where characters play instruments to the tune of the Poker Face track, which has been re-recorded especially. I might pick this one up: Still with us? Fans have pointed to yet another clue, perhaps a little more tenuous, such as this month’s subscriber-only skin being a character with a literal poker face: But perhaps the strongest evidence remains Lady Gaga’s appearance in documents from Epic Games itself alongside references to a number of other pop stars, which surfaced as part of its legal wranglings with Apple. This treasure trove of confidential information detailed numerous in-development collaborations - many of which were planned months and years before they actually occurred. It was here we heard Epic Games had tried - and sadly failed - to convince Nintendo to allow Samus Aran to join Fortnite back in 2020, alongside Xbox’s Master Chief and PlayStation’s Kratos. It’s also here we heard of plans for upcoming concerts by J Balvin and Ariana Grande - the latter of which was planned more than a year in advance. It’s also here we heard of early plans for Fortnite to work with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and LeBron James - both of which, again, eventually transpired. Perhaps there’s still hope for Lady Gaga yet?
