Fortnite has always been a massive game with a massive user base. After all the hit or miss suits against them, though, you’d think they’d at least try to think twice before adding emotes. But this time, at least they got permission from Rick Astley.
In a short Twitter video, in a vastly different type of post, the official Fortnite Twitter account shared a link to a video called Watch How This Bear Made The Unlikeliest Of Friends. So far so good, if not bizarre for them to be sharing it. Once you click the video, though, you instantly hear Astley’s classic 1987 song-turned-meme.
The new emote, which is called “Never Gonna”, shows off its characters dancing and snapping their fingers as the song plays in the background. It garnered mixed responses on Twitter. Some users claiming Fortnite keeps “ruining classics”, while others are happy to see the inclusion and to know that Epic Games at least reached out to make sure they got permission.
RELATED: VIDEO GAME DEVELOPER QUANTIC DREAM MAKES BOLD MOVE TO SELF-PUBLISH AND GO INDEPENDENT
What Are Fortnite Emotes?
Over the course Fortnite’s lifetime, Epic Games has been hit with a few lawsuits over the use of its emotes. The in-game purchasable dances often contained material found in pop culture, many of which have rightful owners that didn’t exactly know Epic was using it. A total of five lawsuits were filed back in 2018, claiming they never requested permission to use the dance moves and sell it on their online store.
While it was established that choreographed dance moves are a copyrighted piece of work, individual moves weren’t so lucky. Fortnite didn’t just rip off dance moves. Back in Sept. 2019, the developer went about making the Full Tilt emote, which drew attention as it closely resembled the running movement found in Naruto.
The Never Gonna emote does stand above the rest, though, as it appears Astley himself is all for it and even posted about it, encouraging his followers to “grab it while you can.”
Are you never gonna give up the Rick Roll emote, or are you already over it? Let us know in the comments below.
