Ninja becomes first streamer to have his own Fortnite skin

Following the recent update 11.40 which added weapon sidegrading, Ninja took to his usual Fortnite stream on Mixer to announce a skin of himself will be added on Thursday 16 January.  

The skin itself has an impressive likeness to the streamer, and also sports four variations with a bandana and one which channels his logo. 

While it may seem like a small addition, it’s a huge milestone for the relationship between streamers and game developers – opening the doors for others to have their likeness in-game.

You can get Ninja’s limited edition skins by visiting the item shop from 16-19 January, where you can buy the Ninja Outfit, Ninja’s Edge Back Bling, Ninja Style Emote and Dual Katanas Pickaxe.  

In a blog post, Epic Games has also detailed how Ninja’s skin is part of the Icon Series, described as a collaboration which brings the worlds of gaming, music, film and fashion together.  

There’s set to be more collaborations in the future, with the site naming streamers Loserfruit and TheGrefg as future candidates.

If anything, it’s quite surprising this hasn’t happened already. Ninja has become the face of Fortnite the world over, making US chat show appearances on the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Fallon to promote the title.

Most recently, he even teamed up with Star Wars actor Mark Hamill to show him his Fortnite skills – coinciding with the Star Wars crossover event.  

In the past, celebrities like Marshmello and director JJ Abrams have been represented in Fortnite for special events, although they haven't been purchaseable skins. The first "real person" to have a Fortnite skin was K-pop star Jung Chan-Woo last year.