AMD took to Twitter today to show off its new Radeon RX 6000 GPU, albeit from a single, front-facing perspective. To get the full picture, the computer hardware manufacturer directed players to log into a custom creative island on Fornite that features a detailed render of the card.
Fortnite's creative mode was initially introduced in 2018, allowing players to create customized structures that can be shared with an access code. AMD isn't alone in re-purposing the popular battle royale shooter as a platform for promotions and digital entertainment. The game has hosted live concerts, a staggering number of pop-culture crossovers and a controversial call-to-action for players to protest Apple following Epic's recent legal dispute with the tech giant.
AMD invited players to check out the new Radeon RX 6000 by logging into its creative island with the code 8651-9841-1639. Players who explored the island reported that the card has 1 HDMI port, 2 display ports, and a USB-C port. This tease of the new card comes well in advance of AMD's RDNA 2 reveal event, scheduled for October 28th. After Nvidia's reveal of its 30-series graphics cards, all eyes fall on AMD to see the specs of its forthcoming Navi 2X graphics cards, including the flagship Big Navi card.
Fortnite seems to be steadily expanding from a gaming sensation into a broader platform for marketing and entertainment. While Fortnite has featured crossovers with other major pop culture icons for a while, it started aggressively exploring less common approaches to in-game entertainment in 2020, starting with Travis Scott's attention-grabbing Astronomical Concert in April.
This isn't the first time AMD made use of Fortnite's creative islands for promotional purposes, either. Last month, AMD launched a custom map for players to compete for a gaming PC built with top of the line AMD components. Despite that pre-existing promotional relationship, Fortnite may not have been the best platform for AMD to reveal its new card.
Recent rumors suggest that Big Navi will bring a less-impressive performance boost than the RTX 3080. And so far, the Fortnite sneak peek has led to more head-scratching than hype.
Reactions on Twitter have ranged from amusement to dismissal, with some users critiquing the presentation as perplexing or unprofessional. Many gamers have also responded to the AMD's initial tweet with screenshots from the game, obviating the need for players to log in to the game to see the card. The rendered model of the card is high quality, however, clearly showing off ports and other components, and seems affected by Fortnite's recent decision to pull its hi-rez texture option from the game.
Fortnite is available now for Android mobile devices, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One. A release date for AMD's RX 6000 has yet to be announced.