Epic Games announced Tuesday that the Fortnite Impostor mode is a stylized U.S. remake inspired by developers of Innersloth’s Among Us, and teased a Fortnite Among Us crossover. Back in August, Epic announced a new model for the game called Impostors. Since Fortnite’s developers introduced the mode, players have drawn a direct, unrecognized link between the Among Us and the game, suggesting some kind of crossover is in the works.
It was only a matter of time before Epic Games was forced to acknowledge the parallels between itself and Among Us in a recent patch note. The developers behind Fortnite and Among us have appeared to have patched their differences up after a feud that happened this August by teasing an upcoming collaboration.
Fortnite may get a crossover with Among Us sometime in the future, but the collaboration feels like one that could happen sooner rather than later, given the popularity of both games. The crossover Fortnite / Among Us comes from the Battle Royale game Epic Games, whose data was recently leaked.
Fortnite is no stranger to big crossovers, bringing a slew of skins inspired by celebrities from hit TV shows, popular video game characters, blockbuster superheroes, and even one of the latest Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora.
The name of the modes is a direct allusion to the US alien infiltrators, who are called “Imposters” in the game. The Fortnite impostor method required an additional little inspiration from Indie Megahit Among Us, and as you might have guessed, Epic has acknowledged to this day that the matchup mode was inspired by Among Us. Developed and published by the American game studio InnersLoth, an online social deduction game takes place in a room setting where players slip into one of two roles, most of which are crew members and a predetermined number of “Imposters”.
When Epic launched the Fortnite imposter mode in the summer, some criticized it for distinguishing itself from indie favorites like Among Us, including the game “tiny team that felt blinded by it. The exchange comes after the 18.20 patch notes confirmed that Impostor is a game mode inspired by Among Us and Innersloth. Epic has come under criticism for ridding its mechanics of impostors, including the Innsloth developers themselves.
In response to a tweet asking if Epic had contacted Among Us about the new model, the official Twitter account of the game posted a sad face emoji. Innersloth for its part has never publicly addressed the controversy, but yesterday morning the team acknowledged that Impostor mode was inspired by Among Us in its Patch Notes for Fortnite.
It looks like Epic and The Games, who felt blinded by the new game mode, are now well on their way, and Epic and Innersloth have teased a collaboration. Importantly, Epic Games, which has been criticized by developers for InnersLoth’s social deception by game developers and fans on social media, does not see the stylized US remake as an inspiration.
Epic realized that when it fights a high-profile lawsuit claiming to defend a developer’s right to rip off a smaller developer’s game without credit, it doesn’t paint a good picture. A new mode in Fortnite called Impostors, which resembles a structure in the style of Among Us, will undoubtedly be used as direct inspiration by another game and that’s just not cool.