Over the years, Fortnite has developed a reputation for having near infinite crossover potential. Since the battle royale portion of the game started to sweep across the globe towards the end of 2017, all manner of IPs and personalities from the entire pop culture spectrum have been flung out of a Battle Bus. From Marvel, DC, and Star Wars characters, to real-world musicians like Travis Scott, fans of the game have learned to expect the unthinkable.
Part of Epic Games' success, though, can be attributed to the completely original content and elaborate events that the publisher has been able to whip up hype for within Fortnite. One of the more curious aspects of the game's cryptic and often ambiguous narrative, that's managed to capture the imagination of fans for years, is the otherworldly cube affectionately known as Kevin. Following the purple shape's debut, it's been revealed that Kevin is far from the only one of its kind, and that a shadowy backstory lies beyond it's destructive capabilities.
The Origin of 'Kevin':
Back during Fortnite's 5th season in 2018, a rift in space and time opened up above the game's battle royal island which led to the 'In-Between', a dimension that connects all plains and versions of reality. From the crack in the sky, a series of lightning strikes repeatedly struck a mountain just outside of the tropical-themed Paradise Palms. Eventually on August 24 2018, one final 10-second long bolt of electricity transported 'The Cube' to the remote location, seemingly in a manner akin to the aliens in 2005's War of the Worlds movie. Having eagerly anticipated the climax of the rift event, fans were caught off guard by the mysterious shape's unexpected debut appearance.
Over the next few weeks The Cube slowly made its way towards Loot Lake at the centre of Fortnite's original map, making one revolution every 1 hour and 43 minutes. While this snail-paced journey was getting started, the game's Reddit fanbase dubbed the object Kevin, as the word 'cube' had become a banned word within one of the forum's megathreads. Since then the name has been officially adopted by Epic Games, which means that a part of the original cube's lore will forever be tied to the real-world. After causing destruction in its unstoppable march, and crushing all on-lookers, Kevin finally arrived at Loot Lake on September 19. Sinking into the water, players were blissfully unaware as they bounced on the now gelatinous locale that things were only just beginning.
Kevin Steals An Island
At the start of the following season, it became clear that Kevin's motivations weren't as wholesome as many fans had originally suspected. Rising from within Loot Lake, the now floating cube kidnapped the tiny cabin that had once been at the centre of the locale, and began a destructive tornado-powered journey across the island. On October 24, Kevin returned to the lake once again to enact the final stage of its scheme. Once there the cube utilized all of the energy it had accumulated over the course of its life, and summoned an army of zombie-like Cube Monsters.
Over the years, it's gradually been revealed that several conflicting factions are at war with each other over Fortnite's battle royale island. During Season 6 and Kevin's Fortnitemares invasion, two of these forces made their presence known for the first time. In one corner is The Sideways, and while very little is known about this particular antagonistic inter-dimensional species, it's understood that they are the ones that sent the cube on its villainous mission. The Imagined Order are the second, and they are hell-bent on protecting and maintaining the island at all costs. At the end of the Halloween-themed event in 2018, Kevin was seemingly destroyed by the latter. Having been forced into expending all of its energy summoning the zombie army, Kevin cracked and seeped back into a second portal to the In-Between.
Since this chapter in Fortnite's history came to a close, Epic has revealed that Kevin was a sentient entity within its own right, which has prompted some fans to theorize that The Sideways is comprised entirely of cube-shaped beings. Some have also speculated off the back of this information, that Kevin was attempting to locate and absorb The Zero Point. In the proceeding seasons, the mysterious blue orb that once resided under Loot Lake has been revealed to be capable of rewriting reality, which is presumably why the IO stepped in to prevent the cubes from capturing it.
The Other Cubes
Following Kevin's ultimate demise in 2018, the number of cubes that have plagued Fortnite has multiplied exponentially. Over the years, several character skins have been released, for example, that were directly corrupted by Kevin's invasion. Various alternate dimension incarnations of the cube have also briefly popped up from time-to-time, while several locations and landmarks named in tribute to Kevin's invasion exist as well. However, it wasn't until the end of Chapter 2 Season 7 that the curtain was finally pulled back a bit on Kevin's lore.
During the aforementioned season, the alien faction known as The Last Reality utilized an army of cubes during their nefarious attempt to seize control of The Zero Point. Following The IO's counterattack, seven of the trapped cubes were accidentally freed onto Fortnite's current island. Of these, one blue cube nicknamed Blevin has so far remained ominously stationary. Five other purple-hued ones have been shown to be able to replicate themselves, though, when they come into contact with a golden one known as the Queen. Such a designation not only reinforces the idea that the cubes were created without outside assistance, it also reveals that a hierarchy exists within their collective order.
To make matters worse for players, the second impromptu invasion has seemingly awoken Chapter 2's alternate reality incarnation of Kevin. This suggests that more concrete details about the cube's lore, society, history, and motivations are all about to be unleashed as the current season plays out to its conclusion.
Fortnite is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
