Despite tempting him into the world of strings with a ukulele, my son doesn't play guitar… yet. But play Fortnite and he might be one of the millions of players who get the six or four-string bug after virtually picking up Fender's Strat or Precision Bass as they arrive in the free-to-play online video game phenomenon for its Fortnite Festival.
Both will be available in the game's Item Shop at 8pm Eastern Time on Wednesday 13 March ready for the Fortnite Festival, a music game, first launched in late 2023, that also features a Battle Royale of jamming.
"With two of Fender’s most celebrated instruments, players will have the ability to rock out with friends to popular songs in Fortnite Festival's Main Stage, or create their own unique mix in Fortnite Festival's Jam Stage and in Battle Royale," says Fender.
The virtual Fender Stratocaster is available in Black, Fiesta Red and Lake Placid Blue finishes, whilst the Precision Bass is being featured in the Black, Buttercream and Tidepool. Mmmm Buttercream…
In the Fortnite Festival, players can play in a band with friends or even perform solo on stage with music by their favourite artists. No, I wasn't sure how that worked with a control pad either but in the videos I've included here you'll see that it looks very similar to the Guitar Hero and Rockband concepts – and you can even use a guitar controller from those games that you might still have gathering dust somewhere in the attic.
“This bass is a reflection of everything I love about playing”: Fender unveils limited edition Blu DeTiger Player Plus Jazz Bass in Sky Burst Sparkle
“She sent me a lovely letter talking about how much she loves the song”: Taylor Swift’s viral I Believe In A Thing Called Love singalong sends The Darkness to number one in the iTunes Rock Chart
