Fortnite Token is a scam, says Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney. Sweeney spoke out on Twitter against the fake Fortnite cryptocurrency account and says that Epic’s lawyers are working to shut the account down.
The Fortnite Token account was launched in December 2021, and although it may seem like a legitimate endeavor considering the number of other big corporations currently going gaga over NFTs and cryptocurrency, there are several clues that the account is not associated with Epic Games or Fortnite. It currently has only 1,719 followers — a far cry from the 14.7 million followers boasted by the official Fortnite Twitter account. In addition, every other official Twitter account associated with Epic Games bears the blue checkmark of verification, something the Fortnite Token account conspicuously lacks.
In a Twitter thread with @fortnite_token on May 31, Sweeney called out the endeavor as a scam.
“Fortnite Token isn’t a scam cryptocurrency project. Instead, this is a fair-launch, community-driven, Fortnite game fans-created cryptocurrency project with no specified owner or company structure behind it or a CEO deciding on its future,” tweeted Fortnite Token.
“That’s not how trademarks and copyrights work though. You can’t use the Fortnite name and images without permission to market an unrelated product,” replied Sweeney.
Many of the replies to Sweeney’s tweet support the idea of NFTs and cryptocurrency for Fortnite, while a seemingly equal number express relief that the idea is a scam. Still other replies poke fun at Fortnite’s in-game currency, V-Bucks, likening them to a form of cryptocurrency.