Fortnite has been a massive success for publisher Epic Games. Released in 2017, the title raked in $2.4 billion in digital revenue last year and has proven popular both with traditional gamers and with others who do not regularly play video games.
A critical component of Fortnite’s growth and continued cultural relevance has been the integration of pop culture references directly into gameplay. When the hotly anticipated Marvel film Avengers: Infinity War hit theaters in April 2018, Epic Games launched a limited-time game mode featuring Marvel supervillain Thanos. But Epic Games has also landed in federal court over copyright infringement complaints surrounding in-game dance moves known as “emotes.