According to Dexerto, 24,000,000 unique users play Fortnite on a daily basis, with an estimated 270,000,000 logging in whenever there is a major update. It goes without saying, especially after seeing its 5-year anniversary of online availability, that its many creators are going to make the defense-shooter title more inclusive to all users. A prime example of this is seen with Joy, a downloadable skin of an African American female with vitiligo.
If you’re not a gaymer, a quick explanation of a “skin” is basically any outfit that changes your avatar’s appearance. Switching skins can give you the ability to play as Fortnite characters in your interest group, major motion picture icons like Doctor Strange and Terminator, bipedal animals, athletes and everything in between. Another part of a skin change means how you drop into the game, your dance routine to share with other players and what harvesting weapon you wield.
With that said, the Epic Games content creators have been lax when including LGBT skins and customizables. While it’s true that you can often find rainbow-colored weapons, queer and gender-fluid characters are few and far between. That is about to change, however, as Toni is set to debut as part of the Skatepark Royalty set. A datamined picture of Toni with the briefest of summaries confirms that Toni uses the pronouns they/them. Also described as having a throwback style, I’m more excited that non-binary players can feel represented in such a popular video game.
It was just last week that the Chica skin debuted in the online store and was heavily promoted as a lesbian. Unconfirmed LGBT skins include Tarana, and Doggo and Fishstick – who could only be a heavy, heavy bromance.
The current “season” of Fortnite ends on June 3, 2022, and I think it’s safe to say that Toni will become available for purchase sometime after that.
Sources: Yahoo Sports, Pride, Dexerto