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Gamers unimpressed by Harris campaign’s Fortnite map, leading to immediate backlash
October 28, 2024
The Kamala Harris-themed map came a day after Governor Tim Walz streamed himself gaming with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Kamala Harris campaign announced its own map on the popular shooter game Fortnite just a week before the election as part of a bid to reach gamers. The map was met with very few initial users.
"Freedom Town, USA" sports some of the Harris campaign promises and presents itself in the exact way an out-of-touch politician would attempt to reach young audiences.
In a promo video, "Fight for freedom" appears in large text as generic rock-rap music begins to play. On the map's backdrop, fictional retail outlets like "Kamala's Kicks" fill the streets.
The imagery also showcases signs in rainbow colors that display generic messages like "Promise of America" and "Freedom."
"Kamala Harris and Tim Walz's campaign have released their very own Fortnite map in a bid to court the most oppressed demographic: 12-year-old gamers who play Fortnite," writer Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X.
"Freedom Town, USA is a custom creative map themed around some of Harris' campaign, including tax breaks for small businesses and affordable housing."
Cheong also revealed that audio cues in the new map included clips from Donald Trump. For example, when you pick up a cat, Trump says, "They're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats," plays.
"You have to wonder who they're even campaigning for," Cheong added.
The map, which was officially released on October 28, so far has not been a hit. It carried an impressively low all-time peak of 261 concurrent users and is ranked No. 435 as a map. At the time of this publication, there were 1.7 million people playing Fortnite.
Other pushes from the Harris campaign into the gaming world have included a Geeks & Nerds for Harris fundraiser.
Embarrassingly broken up into the categories "Earth heroes" and "space explorers," the organizers describe themselves as a "diverse group of fandoms and artists teaming up to support Kamala Harris."
'Those guys drew up a playbook and it's project 2025.'
Additionally, vice presidential candidate and Governor Tim Walz was joined in a video game streaming session by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The pair played the football game Madden 25 and the driving game Crazy Taxi.
During their stream, Walz attacked Trump for wanting an administration that tells citizens "what books to read" while connecting him to Project 2025.
"I think a lot of folks on here are kind of independent folks, independent thinkers about things," Walz stated. "Why would you want the government telling you what books to read, or what doctor to see, or what how big your family can be?"
"It's that kind of stuff [that] is ridiculous and so I think, you talk about football planning, it's the same way; if you're going to drop a playbook in football you're going to use it. Those guys drew up a playbook and it's project 2025."
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Andrew Chapados is a writer focusing on sports, culture, entertainment, gaming, and U.S. politics. The podcaster and former radio-broadcaster also served in the Canadian Armed Forces, which he confirms actually does exist.
andrewsaystv
Andrew Chapados
Andrew Chapados is a writer focusing on sports, culture, entertainment, gaming, and U.S. politics. The podcaster and former radio-broadcaster also served in the Canadian Armed Forces, which he confirms actually does exist.
@andrewsaystv →
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