Internet personality Kai Cenat is officially coming to Fortnite, as the massively popular battle royale title continues its collaborations with major streamers. Other notable content creators like MrBeast, Loserfruit, and Ninja have had the honor of being cemented in Fortnite history, and Kai Cenat will now be part of that roster.
However, the announcement of this skin hasn't been free from controversy. Between the over-the-top way that the cosmetic was revealed to the drama leading up to the announcement, Kai Cenat's Fortnite skin has proven to be quite divisive among streamer audiences.
Kai Cenat will officially come to Fortnite on September 12.
Fortnite's Kai Cenat Skin Controversy Explained
Streamer Drama Ahead of the Big Reveal
The drama in question was between Kai and fellow streamer Adin Ross. Over the years, Ross has been no stranger to controversy, but this time around, the content creator put Kai Cenat in the hot seat. Ross recently challenged Kai Cenat to donate $400,000 to MrBeast's TeamWater fundraiser that aims to raise $40 million in order to give struggling communities clean drinking water. This led some of Adin's crew to bring up a reminder that Kai had yet to fulfill his promise of building a school in Nigeria.
Last year, Kai visited the town of Makoko, Nigeria. After this trip, he promised to assist the community by building a school, but as Adin's crew stated, this has yet to come to fruition. This has led some stream viewers to accuse Kai of being a scammer and simply using the struggle of Makoko to gain internet clout. Kai Cenat has done charitable works on stream before, but these acts have led some to speculate that such actions are simply performative for the broadcast and not entirely genuine. Of course, there's no way to know for sure, and Kai may eventually help bring a school to Makoko. As of now, though, the recent drama surrounding this has made the streamer's Fortnite skin reveal less celebratory than he may have hoped for.
As of now, Epic Game has yet to reveal how much the Kai Cenat skin will cost.
Kai Cenat's Fortnite Skin Was Revealed in the Flashiest Way Possible
Instead of being announced on a platform like X or YouTube, Kai Cenat's upcoming skin was announced via the Las Vegas Sphere. For those who are unaware, the Las Vegas Sphere is one of the most expensive platforms to advertise a product. For one day of advertising, companies and clients can expect to pay around an estimated $450,000. With Adin's crew reigniting discourse about the yet-to-be-built Nigerian school, Epic Games buying an ad that's nearly half a million dollars doesn't look great, either.
The skin has gotten a lot of backlash on Reddit in particular, with some claiming that not only is the skin's reveal overly expensive, it's simply boring. One Reddit user commented, "$450,000+ just to reveal a dude in a tank top," while another made the point, "I don’t get why Kai is getting a skin. He's not even really that well known for playing Fortnite. IShowSpeed would have been a better choice." It's important to note, though, that MrBeast isn't known for Fortnite, either. Not every Epic Games partnership with a popular streamer involves someone who is notable for playing the game, even if it technically would make more sense.
While Kai Cenat's Fortnite skin is controversial, it's also likely exciting for his fans. There are still a few weeks away until the streamer officially becomes part of the Fortnite shop, and it will be interesting to see if the cosmetic sells well or not when it finally arrives.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- September 26, 2017
- ESRB
- T for Teen - Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Epic Games
- Publisher(s)
- Epic Games
