It’s not entirely clear what the occasion is - although a quick Google tells me Gears of War is currently celebrating its 15 year, one month, and two day anniversary, so perhaps that’s a thing - but Fenix and Diaz will both be available as paid skins in the Fortnite store from 7pm ET this evening, which equates to 12am, 10th December in the UK. Those that choose to buy Fenix will receive the Sonic Resonator Back Bling, while Diaz comes with the Reyna’s Pendant Back Bling, and it’s possible to buy both characters in a bundle which also includes the Emergence Hole Spray. Epic notes Xbox Series X/S players that purchase the Marcus Fenix outfit, will unlock the Matte Black Style skin variant upon completing a match. Fenix and Diaz will be accompanied by other Gears-of-War-themed cosmetics for purchase, either individually or in a bundle: the Breaker Mace Pickaxe, Thumper Pickaxe, Butcher Cleaver Pickaxe, Skiff Glider, and Knife Tricks Emote, most of which are pictured below. For those players who’d like a splash of Gears of War in their Fortnite but who don’t particularly want to fork out cash to participate in this particular cross-promotional marketing opportunity, Epic is holding a series of special COG-themed in-game quests, running from 9th-17th December at 9am ET - or 2pm in the UK. There are five quests to complete in total - collect three COG tags, crouch behind a barrier, damage an opponent with a melee attack, do shotgun damage to an opponent, collect Thrashball memorabilia - and players that complete them all will receive an in-game spray cosmetic sporting Gears of Wars’ iconic Crimson Omen emblem. Gears of War’s Marcus Fenix and Kait Diaz join an increasingly long roster of video game characters that have made the leap to Fortnite - which just embarked on its Chapter 3 map refresh this weekend - with that list including the likes of League of Legends’ Jinx, Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, Street Fighter’s Ryu and Chun-Li (and Cammy and Guile), Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, and God of War’s Kratos.
