English soccer champ Manchester City wants young fans, so it’s dropping into ‘Fortnite’

The reigning champion of the Premier League is adding another distinction to its résumé. Manchester City F.C. is launching The Ladder, a custom Fortnite experience that will look to raise the soccer club’s credibility among young fans.

The Ladder will utilize iconography associated with Man City, which has finished on top of the standings in six of the past seven Premier League seasons. Fortnite players will compete in one-on-one arenas that will feature the club’s branding. Man City is the first Prem side to launch its own Fortnite activation.

Digiday noted that The Ladder was not developed out of an official partnership between Man City and Fortnite developer Epic Games. Instead, the club “collaborated” with Epic to get advice on the best ways to utilize the Fortnite Creative suite, according to City Football Group head of Esports, Gaming, and Metaverse Kris Lewis.

In terms of payouts and brand interest, Fortnite Creative has not made quite as big of a splash as Roblox’s equivalent program. Nevertheless, media companies and creators have poured money into Epic’s island-building toolkit. In 2023, Fortnite partners hauled in $320 million thanks to earnings from their creations.

Man City’s foray into Fortnite strengthens the club’s ties to Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. The Mancunian outfit has been a perennial Prem contender since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s ownership group acquired it in 2008, but these days, influencer boxing events

are as likely as grand finals to fill up stadiums. Man City has responded by establishing its own esports teams and bringing its brand into Fortnite. The Ladder is the next step in the club’s evolution.

A sizable Fortnite presence will also serve Man City as the club embarks on a preseason tour of the United States. Approximately 21% of Fortnite players hail from the U.S. — and no other country has a bigger share.

The Ladder will help Man City promote its Stateside swing, but the Fortnite activation could persist beyond the end of the tour. “We’re really trying to set a precedent with the map, and set something that does have the potential to live long-term in the ecosystem, and that really does resonate with players in the longer term,” Lewis told Digiday. “What exactly that horizon looks like will be shaped by the map and what we learn from the launch process.”