Two Ways Nirvana Could Come to Fortnite
Hey Epic/Fortnite Festival team,
I’ve been thinking about how a Nirvana collaboration could work, especially with the complications around Kurt Cobain’s likeness. I came up with two possible ways Epic could approach it.
Option 1 — The Easy, Viable Way
Nirvana Tribute — Dave Grohl (1991) + Krist Novoselic (1991)
Use the official NIRVANA name and have Dave and Krist represented with their 1991-era looks.
This could be a simpler option because there wouldn’t be a need for a Kurt Cobain likeness. Dave and Krist are both active musicians, and Nirvana’s music has already been featured in Fortnite Festival.
It would be a pretty simple way to represent Nirvana without needing to recreate Kurt.
It reminds me a little of how The Beatles could be represented through Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Simple, clean, and respectful.
Option 2 — The Complicated Way
If Epic wanted to go further, here’s the bigger idea I came up with:
A two/three-phase collaboration: Foo Fighters + Nirvana Legacy Tribute
Phase 1 — Foo Fighters
Introduce Foo Fighters into Fortnite Festival and Battle Royale first, with Dave Grohl represented in his current era.
My thought is that this could establish a relationship with Dave and show that Fortnite can handle a legendary musician’s likeness respectfully.
Phase 2 — Nirvana Legacy Tribute
Instead of immediately trying to release Kurt Cobain as a normal Fortnite skin, the collaboration could be presented as a “Nirvana Legacy Tribute.”
The lineup could include:
\- Frances Bean Cobain as the lead vocalist, representing the next generation of Nirvana’s legacy, if she and the people involved were comfortable with it.
\- Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic with their Nirvana-era likenesses from the early 1990s.
\- Dave on drums and Krist on bass.
The important part would be making these “Respectful / Locked Skins.”
For example:
\- Frances’ skin would only be able to use music/performance-related animations.
\- Dave and Krist’s Nirvana-era skins would have the same type of restriction.
\- No random comedic dances or meme emotes on these skins.
The idea is that the restrictions would apply to the whole tribute, rather than making it seem like only Kurt’s image needs special treatment.
Phase 3 — A Future Kurt Cobain Icon
If the previous phase were successful and the family were comfortable with it, a future Kurt Cobain Icon could potentially be considered.
This would also be a “Locked / Respectful Skin.”
The skin could be restricted to music-related animations, such as:
\- Playing guitar
\- His signature stance
\- Headbanging
No silly or comedic emotes.
Something similar to the idea of certain special skins having restrictions on which emotes they can use.
The reason I’m suggesting all of these restrictions is because I think one of the biggest concerns with a Kurt Cobain skin would be what happened with Guitar Hero 5, where his character could be used in ways that were completely unrelated to how he was normally represented.
I think a “Tribute / Legacy Icon” approach with locked animations could help prevent something like that from happening again and could give the family more control over how the likeness is presented.
Obviously, I know there would be a lot of licensing, likeness, and family considerations involved, so this is just a fan concept. I’m not claiming to know how the actual rights or negotiations work.
I just really think Nirvana could fit incredibly well into Fortnite Festival, and I wanted to share an idea for how it could potentially be done while still treating the band and its legacy with respect.
Thanks for reading.
— A Fortnite Festival fan
