I thought Ready Player One was the crossover king, but Fortnite has long held the trophy for getting literally everyone. The latest acquisition: Bob Ross, the famously coiffed TV painter, and calming presence for a generation.
Built within the Unreal Editor for Fortnite, Bob Ross Tycoon puts players as aspiring artists under the titular painter. Players will build and manage their own art studio, create beautiful landscape portraits, and find their happy place.
Now, one could argue that Fortnite’s garishly cartoon art style is the complete antithesis to the Bob Ross painterly aesthetic. On the other hand, the full freedom to just mess around with paint in Unreal Engine certainly has its appeal.
But, nah, judging from the screenshots, this looks pretty bad. I mean, there’s an “Afro Shop,” and “Bob Ross Cosmetics?”
“Bob was all about making art accessible to everyone”, said Joan Kowalski, President of Bob Ross Inc. “We’re thrilled his beloved teaching style has reached this interactive format, and now an entirely new audience can become active participants in his story and love of creativity.”
To access the game-within-a-game, search “Bob Ross Tycoon” in Fortnite, or use the following Island code: 5384-6885-8924. It’s free to access within Fortnite (which is also free-to-play) on PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and mobile devices.
