Studio criticizes Fortnite and Call of Duty: promises its game won't be a parade of series, movie and anime characters

The enormous popularity of Fortnite is largely due to its attractive collaborations with major entertainment franchises. Characters from movies, series, video games, and anime have successfully paraded through the Battle Royale, prompting other major sagas—such as Call of Duty—to follow suit.

This has divided the opinions of fans from both franchises. On one hand, some are pleased with the collaborations and their business model. However, there are also players who believe that the thematic content has gradually stripped the sagas of their identity.

Due to this concern and a recent crossover with Scream, Crytek promised that Hunt: Showdown 1896 will not become a parade of characters of all kinds. In this way, it indirectly criticized the strategy of Epic Games and Activision.

Hunt: Showdown 1896 will not follow the collaboration model of Fortnite and CoD

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is a competitive game with a dark atmosphere and touches of horror. Its first major collaboration debuted recently and brought Ghostface from Scream into its combat arenas. This raised alarms among some players, who believe the game will be filled with characters of all kinds to follow the model of Fortnite and Call of Duty.

In response, Crytek clarified that its plan is different. While it is a fact that they will introduce more thematic content to their game, they will always do so with collaborations that fit perfectly into the universe of Hunt: Showdown 1896.

"You won't see Peter Griffin or anime characters coming to Hunt any time soon. We have been looking for a while at working with brands that can blend into the 19th Century world of Hunt, while staying true to themselves and our lore. These collaborations around new characters allow us to continue to build unique and interesting stories within the Hunt mythos, while inviting new audiences to explore our world for the first time," the studio stated.

To add content from Scream, the company considered the best way to do so from a narrative and artistic perspective. They gave Ghostface a special look that referenced the time period in which the game is set, so they placed a cracked wooden mask on him.

As for the narrative, they made the character's mask a relic that has been passed down from generation to generation and is capable of corrupting people into becoming killers. The idea is to adapt future collaborations in the same way so that every new character makes sense in the title's universe.