The 2024 presidential election is in its final stages, with both sides doing everything they can to win over the all-important undecided voters. The Harris/Walz campaign is exploring unconventional options. Epic Games’ blockbuster online multiplayer hit Fortnite has added maps.
The “Freedom Town, USA” map, available at 7331-5536-6547, is a little different than your average Fortnite match. Forbes senior contributor Paul Tassi played the new map and reported that there are no guns in Freedom Town (probably for obvious reasons). Instead, this game focuses on car racing and parkour style. The map also features some campaign signs and decorations for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz’s presidential run.
Video games are the basis of the Harris/Waltz movement. The Harris campaign has its own Twitch page, where it streams games such as World of Warcraft and the latest Madden title as a way to foster discussion with voters. However, Fortnite’s maps don’t seem to do a good job of getting the message across to players. At the time of publishing this article, there are less than 300 active players on the map.
Political advertising and recruitment in video games is not limited to this campaign cycle. According to NPR, then-candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign ran ads for 18 games on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, including Need for Speed: Carbon, Madden NFL 13, and the mobile version of Tetris. He introduced this concept into politics when he purchased .
