Summary
As much as we try to escape it, the Trump administration’s tariffs are already affecting the videogame industry. Back in February, theEntertainment Software Association urged the administration to open dialogueregarding tariffs for fear of the industry getting affected. Now that they are in effect, we’ve already seenstock prices of Japanese developers dropandpre-order delays for the Nintendo Switch 2 in several countries.
The tabletop games industry, which was seeing a resurgence,is also at risk, with big names likeGloomhaven are worried for survival, with a 104% manufacturing cost increase due to the tariffs. It seems the tariffs have also affected Fortnite, kind of.
Fortnite’s New Free Loading Screen Looks Very Similar To The Stock Market Of Late
Fortnite recently released a free new loading screen wallpaper called The Big Dillbits Crash. It features the big baddie of the season, Fletcher Kane, standing in front of a crashing Dillbit graph. The story behind it is similar to a Bitcoin scam, and the crash has essentially destroyed his financial hold over the island.
It’s quite a coincidence that the real life stock market also looks very similar, thanks to the tariffs. Of course, Fortnite probably had this planned way before the crash, so it’s not really a reference to it. However, you can be sure that the devs knew that the reference would be made regardless. Considering the situation we’re all in, all we can do is laugh at the coincidence.
Over on Reddit, some fans believe that Epic knew exactly what it was doing with this hilarious wallpaper. “I never would have thought Fortnite of all things would joke about this,” saidhornedcer, along with an image of the loading screen. “In this economy, you’re stuck with your common rifles,” they later joked.
“Jonsey put tariffs on everyone, sell f***ing everything,” said another comment, not missing the similarity with current affairs. Another reacted with “I’ll put 25% tariffs on Midas Gold and make Midas pay for it,” making another reference to Donald Trump’s policies.
