Since its first release, Fortnite has featured dance moves that players can use to personalize their characters. These dance moves are essential as the money players spend on purchasing dance moves, characters, and costumes are used to make necessary updates to the games. However, they have also turned out to be a point of contention for the developers, Epic Games.
Epic Games has been very good at keeping Fortnite relevant by staying on top of current trends. For example, when a famous artist releases a new album, Fortnite will partner with them and release an in-game concert promoting it. Alternatively, they will also introduce new characters and skins according to what’s currently popular. The same goes for dance moves. If they notice a new Tik Tok dance sensation, you may soon see the dance moves appear in the game.
For the most part, these partnerships are rewarding for everyone involved. The artists get recognition and publicity, and Fortnite stays relevant in an ever-changing market. However, in some cases, artists feel they haven’t received fair compensation. Dance choreographer, Kyle Hanagami, has laid charges against Epic Games for using one of his original dance moves in the most recent event.
This isn’t the first time Fortnite has been taken to court for using a dance move created by someone else. A few years back, Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, claimed Fortnite stole his signature dance move from the popular series. However, in that case, the court ruled that since the dance move wasn’t copyrighted and therefore not the property of Ribeiro.
In the case of Kyle Hanagami, his dance moves, referred to in Fortnite as ‘It’s complicated,’ are copyrighted. As such, it would be interesting to see the outcome of this case. We’ll be keeping an eye on this case to see how it develops. At least there should be approval for the potential Billie Eilish concert coming to Fortnite.
