After weeks of build-up, Epic Games has finally released Fortnite Season 3: Splashdown, covering the game's map with water. The official launch trailer for Splashdown shows off some of the additions to the popular battle royale, including the ability to waterski behind loot sharks, but one of the more interesting things in the trailer is a reference to the iconic fighting game franchise Mortal Kombat.
About 15 seconds into the trailer, the cat-human hybrid Agent Meowscles rides past a nautical platform using a loot shark. He watches as a fight takes place that ends with a single uppercut knocking out Season 2 character Brutus and sending his Ghost uniform helmet into the air in what is clearly a homage to Johnny Cage's iconic decapitation Fatality.
That particular Fatality is so well known, even alongside a number of other brutal finishing moves that have defined Mortal Kombat since its inception, that Cage's return in NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 11 includes a joke referencing the actor's inability to cleanly knock off an opponent's head over multiple takes. Mortal Kombat 11 has seen multiple DLC additions including the recent Aftermath expansion, so it would make sense that the game might have been at the forefront of Epic Games' minds when working on this trailer.
Also confirmed to be a part of Fortnite Season 3 by this trailer is the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, fitting with the flooded theme of the new content. Rumors about Aquaman being included in the game have been floating around the Internet for weeks thanks to leaked information, but earlier this week it was all but confirmed by DCEU actor Jason Momoa posting a trident teaser image on Instagram.
Now that Season 3 is available to the public, there are plenty of challenges to complete across the now-partially underwater map. One such challenge that players may want to complete is finding three gnomes in Homely Hills, a more casual way to earn some experience for the new Battle Pass that includes collectibles such as a Jason Momoa Aquaman skin.
No doubt there will be plenty more for players to do as Season 3 progresses, but for now, the addition of water-based mechanics alone does change quite a bit in the battle royale. Hopefully, some of that new Fortnite content down the line will also go out of its way to pay homage to video game classics such as Mortal Kombat.
Fortnite is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.