Popular brainrot characters, Tung Tung Tung Sahur and Ballerina Cappuccina, have been added to Fortnite. Within a single day, fans on a community site voted the skins the worst cosmetics that have ever been added to the game. Some fans are urging one another not to buy the skins, and are planning to target anyone who uses them in the battle royale game.
“I will make sure they don’t run away and send them back to the lobby!” one Reddit post said. “If a member of my team is one of these AI skins, then they’re not getting revived. Oops did I arrive too late? Sorry!”
One reason these skins are drawing negative attention is because they are based on AI-generated brainrot meme characters. “There is no single way this is a good thing/good idea,” another Reddit post said. “Yes, real people made these skins, but they COME from AI and all it will do is encourage people (most likely kids if they don’t already obsess over it) to seek these characters out i.e seeking out AI. It’s kind of common sense.”
This isn’t the first time Epic Games has been in the news lately. The company recently drew negative attention for increasing the price of V-bucks, the in-game currency that allows players to purchase cosmetics, like these new skins. They also laid off over 1,000 of their employees. These layoffs included the designer of their most recognized character, Jonesy, and a programmer with terminal brain cancer.
“My husband, Mike was recently laid off along with over a thousand others at Epic Games,” his wife posted on Facebook. “What makes this different for our family is that Mike is currently fighting terminal brain cancer. Because of the layoff, we didn’t just lose income—we lost his life insurance. And because his condition is now considered a pre-existing condition, he can’t get new coverage.”
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, responded to the backlash. He stated that he has been in contact with the family and will solve the insurance situation for them.
