{"id":376983,"date":"2026-04-01T19:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376983\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:35:11","slug":"ed-sheeran-praised-for-turning-down-fortnite-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376983\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran praised for turning down \u2018Fortnite\u2019 collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran<\/a> has revealed he turned down a Fortnite <\/a>collaboration because he doesn\u2019t play the hit battle royale game.<\/p>\n

Fortnite has featured a number of huge artists in a variety of limited-edition events. Billie Eilish<\/a>, The Weeknd<\/a>, Metallica<\/a>, Chappell Roan<\/a> and Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> have all headlined Fortnite Festival, with custom skins and bespoke emotes added to the game. Daft Punk<\/a> hosted an interactive event<\/a> that allowed fans to remix 31 tracks from across the dance duo\u2019s back catalogue while Ariana Grande<\/a> and Travis Scott <\/a>have played virtual gigs inside Fortnite.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

However Ed Sheeran has revealed he turned down the chance to appear in Fortnite because it wouldn\u2019t feel authentic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you see my face near any product, I want it to be something I actually do,\u201d he said during an interview on the Warne\u2019s Way podcast.<\/a> \u201cLike ketchup, I fucking love ketchup. Guitars, I play the guitars I play. The reason I\u2019m here today is because I\u2019m launching a speaker with Orange, and I\u2019ve used Orange amps for years. It has to be real. And so when my record company were like \u2018oh, we can put you in Fortnite\u2019, I was like \u2018I don\u2019t really want to do that\u2019. I don\u2019t play Fortnite but I do play Pok\u00e9mon, so we contacted The Pok\u00e9mon Company.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 2022, Sheeran released \u2018Celestial\u2019<\/a>, which appeared during the end credits of Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet & Violet.<\/p>\n

I respect him a lot for this. He has a brand he wants to build and Fortnite is not a part of that. He just simply doesn\u2019t have a connection to the game. Big ups for Ed lol https:\/\/t.co\/TTJoLwwdxk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 AriesTakeda (@ariestakeda) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI love this. Nothing but love for the Fortnite team but I\u2019ll always have respect for artists who turn down gaming collaborations because they don\u2019t feel it\u2019s the right fit for them,\u201d wrote<\/a> one fan on X. \u201cI don\u2019t care about him or his music but I respect this mentality a lot,\u201d added<\/a> another. \u201cI could clown on this and say \u2018wow thank god we\u2019re never getting an Ed Sheeran Fortnite Festival season\u2019 but honestly, big respect to Ed for this. We only wants his face near products he actually uses and believes in, actually a W for integrity,\u201d said<\/a> a third.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It comes after Ed Sheeran\u2019s brief cameo in Game Of Thrones<\/a> season seven received backlash from viewers who claimed he was out of place in the HBO series. \u201cAt the time I was\u00a0 just everywhere, so I think it was quite jarring<\/a>,\u201d he said while appearing on Benny Blanco\u2019s<\/a> Friends Keep Secrets podcast earlier this year. \u201c[It] happens quite a lot in my career, I just get shit on for things [but] I enjoyed doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Fortnite owners Epic Games scrapped three games and laid off more than 1000 members of staff<\/a> \u201cto keep the company funded\u201d. It comes after the price of in-game currency V-bucks went up \u201cto help pay the bills\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In other news, it\u2019s been reported that Rockstar Games has spent more than \u00a32.7billion<\/a> developing Grand Theft Auto 6<\/a>, making it the most expensive video game of all time.<\/p>\n