July 22 – Manchester City have launched ‘The Ladder [Man City]’, a new gaming experience that marks the partnership of the club with the global phenomenon Fortnite video game.
To celebrate the launch, Manchester City will release new content across its channels during the men’s first team’s pre-season tour in the US with special activations planned around the club’s first fixture against Celtic in North Carolina later this week.
The Fortnite Creative map is the latest development in the club’s gaming and esports strategy. Efforts to engage both football and esports audiences has seen City implement professional esports teams across titles such as Fortnite and dedicated esports content channels.
The Manchester City 1v1 map features 11 themed arenas, including a ‘blue moon’ level, inspired by the club anthem, and the ‘bee’ level, inspired by the Manchester worker-bee.
Nuria Tarre, chief marketing and fan experience officer at City Football Group, said: “We are delighted to launch our official Fortnite Creative map in collaboration with Epic Games for gaming and football fans around the globe to enjoy
“The opportunity to build this world in Fortnite presented a fantastic way to increase our presence across the competitive gaming space, a natural crossover for our leading sports entertainment brand.
“This launch is a great new addition to our off-pitch fan engagement activations and we are excited to see a crossover of esports and football fans dive into this immersive City experience.”
The news breaks in the wake of City striker Erling Haaland becoming the face of hit mobile game ‘Clash of Clans’.
Esports partnerships are becoming increasingly valuable in the football industry, with many budding fans entering football fandom via exposure through video games and other interactive media. Manchester City have established themselves as world leaders in this market – a position strengthened by their new agreement with Fortnite.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1731627549labto1731627549ofdlr1731627549owedi1731627549sni@g1731627549niwe.1731627549yrrah1731627549