Theme Park Scope

I did not wake up this morning expecting to type the words “Jack the Clown is in Fortnite now,” and yet here we are.

And honestly, I’m a little delighted about it.

Epic Games just dropped the Fortnitemares update for this year, and tucked into the new horror collaborations are two names Halloween Horror Nights fans will recognize instantly: Jack the Clown and Hamikuma. Both were announced on October 1, the same day the update went live, and based on the gameplay trailer, Epic clearly did not phone this one in.

Jack the Clown’s Fortnite skin puts him in a blue, red, and yellow suit, with his signature orange hair styled out wide to the sides, which is exactly the chaotic color palette you’d expect from a character whose entire personality is “unsettling circus energy.” If you’re newer to Halloween Horror Nights and don’t immediately know why this particular clown is such a big deal, here’s the quick version: Jack is the original Halloween Horror Nights icon.

The very first one. Before Universal had years of elaborate house lore and a rotating cast of seasonal villains, there was Jack, and the story goes that Universal actually bought props from a fictional Dr. Oddfellow’s traveling carnival to build out the earliest versions of the event itself. Jack has come back again and again over the decades, anchoring his own haunted houses more times than almost any other character in HHN history, and he’s back again for this year’s event alongside Dr. Oddfellow. Putting him in Fortnite isn’t some random licensing grab, it’s putting the actual face of Halloween Horror Nights in front of millions of players who’ve probably never set foot in Orlando.

Then there’s Hamikuma, and if you don’t already know this character, buckle up, because the lore is genuinely unhinged in the best way. Hamikuma’s Fortnite skin is brown, with multi-colored candy leaking out of a torn-open stomach, a plaid collar, a little blue tie, and one eye that has fully popped out of his head. Charming! Here’s the backstory, because you deserve to know what you’re signing up for: Hamikuma was originally a beloved sideshow performer in a traveling circus, until his fellow performers got jealous of how popular he was, burned the whole circus tent down, and killed him. In the afterlife, a parasitic demon called Death Bringer wormed its way into Hamikuma’s belly and brought him back to the world of the living, which is apparently where the candy comes from, because nothing says “resurrected by a belly demon” like becoming a walking pinata. Hamikuma started as a Universal Studios Japan mascot back in 2021, got his own dedicated show the following year, and has since picked up multiple alternate versions, including HamiKuma Soul, HamiKuma Punk, and HamiKuma Candy. This year also marks his first official meet-and-greet at Universal Studios Florida, so if you’re heading to Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights this season, you can meet the actual bear in person, not just his Fortnite skin.

Both skins are expected to hit the Fortnite Item Shop on October 5, so mark your calendar if you’re the type who likes to log in right when a drop goes live instead of waiting around and hoping it’s still there later.

Jack and Hamikuma aren’t the only names joining this year’s Fortnitemares lineup either. The broader collaboration list includes Five Nights at Freddy’s, Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Purge, Black Clover, Beetlejuice, and Slender Man, which is genuinely one of the more stacked horror crossover rosters Fortnite has put together. And if you watch all the way to the end of the official Fortnitemares trailer, there’s a quick appearance from One Wish Willow, a character from the 2026 film Obsession, which feels like a pretty clear tease that at least one more collaboration is still waiting in the wings before the event wraps up.

For anyone who loves Halloween Horror Nights but doesn’t live anywhere near Orlando or Hollywood, crossovers like this one are a genuinely fun way to get a taste of that universe without buying a plane ticket. And if you are heading to Halloween Horror Nights this year, there’s something kind of fun about recognizing Jack and Hamikuma from your game before you ever walk past them in a scare zone in person.

Will I be buying the Hamikuma skin the second it drops on October 5? I mean, probably, yes, obviously, we both know that already.

We’ll keep tracking any more Halloween Horror Nights crossovers as they’re announced, so check back with Theme Park Scope for whatever Epic Games decides to unleash next.