Epic Games disables emotes for Fortnite's Martin Luther King Jr. event

The March Through Time event will not allow use of Fortnite emotes

Epic Games in collaboration with Time Magazine added a new interactive Martin Luther King Jr. museum to the game recently. The event titled "The March Through Time" celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr and his accomplishments.

While there was no shooting allowed in this mode of the game, there were event specific emotes that the player could use. They could also use one of the wide selection of emotes from the large Fortnite stable.  This did not end well.

All emotes have been disabled in the March Through Time experience except the 8 that are part of the experience. pic.twitter.com/XQZMX1ABYP

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) August 27, 2021

So far the event has received mixed responses from the gaming community and Fortnite players. Some believe that politics have no place in a game like Fortnite, which is mostly about eliminating other players to be the last one standing in a Battle Royale.

Other's believe that Epic wants to educate the younger audience that Fortnite attracts and it is a good opportunity for them to spread the word about one of history's most important figures.

Some are content with the event being a separate mode taking the stance that it's optional and no player was going to be forced to indulge in it.

Martin Luther King Jr's own daughter issued a vague statement about the event saying that, "Decisions around licensing my father’s intellectual property are outside of my personal purview.”