The Fortnite Peacemaker Emote was silently removed from Epic Games’ Battle Royale without much explanation. However, the DC cosmetic was actually pulled because of James Gunn’s HBO show. Here is everything you need to know about why the Peacemaker “Peaceful Hips” emote was banned from Fortnite.
Why Was the Fortnite Peacemaker Emote Removed?
The Fortnite Peacemaker Emote “Peaceful Hips” was removed from player accounts during a September 28 update. However, the cosmetic’s ban took many users by surprise, as they were given no warning. After logging in, the recently released cosmetic was no longer showing up in their locker. Making things even more confusing is that Epic Games quickly released a statement on the situation that didn’t fully explain what happened.
“We’re disabling the Peaceful Hips Emote in Fortnite as we inquire into our partner’s creative intentions in this collab emote. Assuming it’s not coming back, we’ll issue refunds in the next few days. Sorry folks.” So if you are confused why the Fortnite Peacemaker Emote was removed, you aren’t alone! However, below we will explain the likely reason behind why Epic Games decided to pull the dance from the battle royale.
Spoiler Warning: Below will feature major Peacemaker Season 2 spoilers for the HBO show. Read at your own discretion:
In Episode 6 of Peacemaker Season 2, it’s revealed that John Cena’s character is actually living in Earth-X. It’s an alternate reality where the Nazis won World War 2 and have taken over the United States.
The major twist re-contextualized the show’s opening dance sequence, which appears to have John Cena making a Nazi symbol with his arms. Of course, with this dance also being the Fortnite Peacemaker Emote, it was quickly pulled from the game. Oops!
How Did the Fortnite Peacemaker Emote Ban Happen?
At this point, there is no official confirmation of what happened outside Epic Games saying “we are inquiring into our partner’s creative intentions.” So it appears that Epic wasn’t aware of Peacemaker Season 2’s plot twist. Some fans of the HBO series have even speculated that James Gunn purposely withheld this information. Although this seems a little far-fetched, if I’m being honest.
Regardless, it appears that having an emote that would allow kids to spam a Nazi symbol was a big no-no for Epic Games. This is the more likely explanation for why the Fortnite Peacemaker “Peaceful Hips” emote was immediately removed following Episode 6’s debut on September 25. Of course, fans of the battle royale were not too thrilled by the decision. Some Fortnite players even started tagging James Gunn on social media asking him to weight in on the situation.
At the time of writing, neither Gunn nor Epic Games has released any further statements on the Peacemaker emotes ban. However, from the sounds of it, players are likely to get a full refund in the coming week. If you’ve ever wondered why Fortnite is so slow to implement certain collaborations or trends in the game, this might be one of the reasons!
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