Red balloons located in popular POIs in Fortnite pointed to an It Chapter 2 crossover event. Those balloons are now gone. Does this mean Epic has canceled the event?
Epic Games has been slamming the "Fortnite X" crossover events in the past year. They've collaborated with brands, TV shows, films, and other Epic titles to bring us some entertaining game modes, map changes, and cosmetic additions.
All signs pointed to Fortnite X It being the next big crossover, but recent in-game changes may mean the event is canceled - or was never fully realized.
The IT Chapter 2 Crossover
These "illinois" quest sound files were added this update..
— HYPEX - Fortnite Leaks & News (@HYPEX) August 27, 2019
Fortnite X IT Chapter 2 Collab with challenges ? pic.twitter.com/yV2hiEIwbX
We heard a lot of information about the Fortnite X IT crossover through data mined game files. We got sound files for the Pennywise as well as quest files that pointed to an upcoming event.
A few days after this information came out, we started to see red balloons popping out of the sewers in places like Pleasant Park and Paradise Palms.
Since Fortnite has a history of crossover events with movies, TV shows, and even other games, most people assumed that a Fortnite X It crossover event would coincide with the film's release.
It: Chapter 2 came out on September 6, so an event this week would make the most sense. Fortnite X Mayhem was coming to an end, making the timing perfect.
That was, until yesterday.
Balloons Vanish
For those unaware, balloons are gone now
— Lucas7yoshi // Fortnite Leaks & News (@Lucas7yoshi) September 9, 2019
sidewalk is still messed up though pic.twitter.com/jLjthFbaSo
It's 3:00 PM EST as of this writing, and Epic has yet to announce the downtime for patch 10.30. It's possible we're not getting a patch this week, but you'd think Epic would have warned us by now.
The balloons are gone, and although we could still get a Fortnite X It crossover with the next patch, it doesn't make sense for Epic to remove the balloons ahead of time.
Data miner Lucas7Yoshi offered an interesting theory for the crossover event - or lack thereof.
y'all remember the most boring "crossover"? wreck it wralph and fortnite?
— Lucas7yoshi // Fortnite Leaks & News (@Lucas7yoshi) September 10, 2019
literally the most uneventful boring lowest budget lame wack awful boring dumb low effort boring bs ever
what if the balloons were LITERALLY all there was?
Is this really all we're going to get?
It's possible, but it doesn't explain the manic Pennywise laughter found in the game files. It's probably more likely that Epic may have had a falling out in their deal to promote the film.
We won't know for sure until the next patch is released, but all signs are pointing to a canceled crossover event as it stands.
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