Darth Vader has arrived in Fortnite, and your AI buddy has a demise grip on all method of cool and unusual options, together with the capability to serenade to you (supplied you solely anticipate him to sing Star Wars and Disney-related songs).
As summarized by Epic Video games associate Shiina, the Darth Vader AI can be part of and depart squads at will, reply intelligently to the participant, problem cued and impromptu dialogue, summarize gameplay occasions, and warn the participant if one thing’s about to go down.
Darth Vader may also apparently urge you to hunt skilled assist “if he realizes that your well-being is in danger,” saying: “You might be valued, Trooper. Search help from the authorities. Your well-being is paramount.”
When you’ve acquired a candy spot for Vader, although, I am sorry to tell you that Shiina reports “Darth Vader AI is NOT allowed to interact in a romantic relationship with gamers.” And no, he will not let you know “what he did to the younglings,” so do not danger his wrath by even asking.
But why examine it whenever you see him in motion? This is Darth Vader AI popping up unexpectedly in Nick Eh 30’s match:
GAMEPLAY OF THE DARTH VADER AI, THIS IS CRAZY ðŸ˜
(by way of @FN_Assist) pic.twitter.com/8AbyEc7vR2
— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) May 16, 2025
Darth Vader is, in fact, voiced by the inimitable James Earl Jones, who sadly died in September 2024 at the age of 93. Epic Video games said Darth Vader wouldn’t be “almost as sinister with out the legendary efficiency of James Earl Jones,” including it was “honored to function” his voice and thanking his property for “the alternative to make this occur for gamers.” Although it did not elaborate there on how Vader’s voice was recreated, elsewhere in an FAQ, Epic defined that the dialogue of Darth Vader’s responses is AI-generated utilizing Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash mannequin, with the audio itself generated by ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5.
In a press release, the household of James Earl Jones stated: “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he all the time needed followers of all ages to proceed to expertise it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will enable each longtime followers of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”
Gamers beneath 13 or their nation’s age of digital consent, whichever is greater, will want their mother or father or guardian’s permission to speak with Darth Vader. Mother and father can approve or deny Darth’s shenanigans by heading to Epic Video games’ parental controls and deciding on “enable voice and written communication with AI Options.”
Fortnite is celebrating Star Wars in an enormous method this season. Referred to as Galactic Battle, it arrived on Could 2 and options not solely a Star Wars-themed Battle Move and a five-part saga with loads of surprises, but in addition the arrival of Darth Jar Jar to the Battle Royale. The information was shared throughout Star Wars Celebration, and we acquired a tease of much more of the Star Wars enjoyable headed our method earlier than the season is up.
Earlier at this time, IGN reported that Epic’s long-running battle with Apple over the way forward for Fortnite on iOS units has taken one more flip, with Epic accusing Apple of blocking its Fortnite submission so it will possibly’t launch the recreation to the U.S. App Retailer.
“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we can not launch to the U.S. App Retailer or to the Epic Video games Retailer for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS might be offline worldwide till Apple unblocks it,” Epic advised IGN.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and marketing consultant. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.