With just a few days to go before the November 3rd presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign has launched a new custom map in Fortnite. First reported by Mashable, the “Build Back Better with Biden” map is located in “Reboot City,” and is aimed at promoting the campaign’s message that the environment and economy are connected. The solo-player, adventure-type map takes about 20 to 30 minutes to play, and made its debut Friday night.
“Our digital program is built around how people spend time, and the most effective ways reach them in those places,” Christian Tom, the Biden campaign’s director of digital partnerships said in a statement to The Verge. “We see interactive, digital-first experiences like gaming as an opportunity to bring our campaign to a new place and platform.”
The custom Fortnite map is a “substantive, approachable, and fun way to reach and mobilize voters,” Tom added. Signs around the map encourage players to visit makeaplan.com, and players can text “Fortnite” to 30330 to learn how to early-vote in person, drop off a ballot, or vote on Election Day.
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It’s not the Biden campaign’s first foray into the video game realm. Earlier this month, the campaign launched a virtual Biden field office for voters to visit in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, “an entire island on the platform where supporters can further connect with the campaign.” And in September, the campaign introduced Biden-Harris yard signs in ACNH.
In the Fortnite map, after players arrive via train at No Malarkey Station, there are six challenges related to the Biden-Harris agenda for players to complete, the campaign told The Verge:
- Help Build a New Research Facility at Champ’s Construction site: “Build a new research facility at the local historically Black college. Build to the top, and stay inside the blueprints.”
- Install 3 Scranton Towers: “Help install these new 5G Broadband towers to ensure every American has access to broadband,” with a shoutout to Biden’s birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
- Restore The Aviator River: “Race to collect industrial waste and restore the river. This challenge highlights Biden’s plan to mobilize the next generation of conservation and resilience workers through a Civilian Climate Corps.”
- Visit Joe’s Famous Ice Cream Shop: “slide down the colors (flavors) to get as much ice cream as you can.”
- Help make Major’s Auto Factory Run Clean: “They modified the line to produce electric cars and are now retrofitting the offices before reopening. Install new high efficiency AC units and unwrap the solar panels on the roof.”
- Complete Kamala’s Sneaker Run: “Find all 10 of Kamala’s sneakers around the city.” Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris is known for sporting Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers as part of her standard wardrobe.
Biden’s dogs Champ and Major both have homes in Reboot City, and there are also a number of Easter eggs in the map, including a boogie bomb, a flashlight, “chiller grenade,” and a boom box.
The code to access the Biden Build Back Better map is 0215-4511-1823.
Despite developer Epic Games’ ongoing legal battle with Apple, Fortnite has shown it can draw big numbers. As of May, Epic said the game had 350 million registered players. In April, a Travis Scott concert in Fortnite drew 12.3 million concurrent players, which Epic claimed was “an all-time record” for the battle royale game.