Fortnite fans believe developer Epic Games has indeed relaxed its rules around the depiction of male nudity, as the game's first fully detailed areola have now been spotted.
A shirtless style for the game's new Chapter 7 battle pass skin Carter Wu shows a relatively detailed nipple present and correct on the character's chest — the first in almost a decade of Fortnite history.
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The development comes just weeks after fans spotted two telltale dots on the chest of Fortnite's underpants-wearing Homer Simpson skin, and wondered whether the game's long-term decision not to show nips had been reconsidered.
At the time, Homer's design featuring nipples was debated as potentially being an exception to Fortnite's no-nips rule — perhaps due to some licensing requirement, or because his cel-shaded model was low in detail.
But the arrival now of a standard Fortnite skin — prominently available in Chapter 7's first battle pass, no less — suggests otherwise, and points to more nipples likely now appearing within Fortnite in future.
In the past, everyone from Travis Scott to God of War's Kratos, Avatar: The Last Airbender's Aang, WWE's John Cena, Dragonball Z's Goku, and Marvel superheroes such as Drax and The Hulk have all appeared in Fortnite topless, with smooth nipple-less chests. Even third-party creator-made modes have been nipple-free, with a high-profile promotional crossover with body hair shaver brand Philips featuring a smooth-chested model.
Could Epic Games now re-add nipples to previous skins, restoring characters like Kratos to their fully chested glory? We will have to wait and see. IGN has often contacted Epic Games about Fortnite's previous no-nipple policy for more detail, though is yet to receive an official statement on the subject.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
