Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane explains why the Fortnite version of Peter Griffin is so swole, and how this collab happened in the first place.
Highlights
Seth MacFarlane claims that Epic Games "didn't have the budget" to create an authentic Peter Griffin Fortnite skin.
While the iconic Family Guy character is known for being obese, his recently launched Fortnite skin is completely shredded.
Players can obtain the Peter Griffin skin until March 8, which is when Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 1 is coming to a close.
Epic Games did not have the budget to create an authentic version of the Peter Griffin Fortnite skin, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has revealed. His insight into this curious crossover arrives weeks after Peter Griffin debuted in Fortnite as part of the Chapter 5: Season 1 Battle Pass.
While the original version of the iconic character is the epitome of obesity, his Fortnite rendition is anything but. Specifically, the Peter Griffin that made its way to the hit battle royale game is extremely muscular, with his overall frame being much closer to that of a typical Fortnite skin than the character's original design, which was authored by MacFarlane himself.
Reflecting on this state of affairs, the Family Guy creator recently explained that the Fortnite version of Peter Griffin was a design born largely out of necessity. "I was told that they didn't have the budget to create his actual body," the famous Hollywood generalist told IGN. Instead, Epic ended up sticking Peter Griffin's head onto a muscular body as part of a move that MacFarlane likened to the 1989 TV Guide cover that edited Oprah Winfrey's head onto the body of '60s Hollywood star Ann-Margret Olsson. MacFarlane also admitted he had no idea what Fortnite was when the Family Guy crossover was pitched to him.
Assuming MacFarlane's comments weren't made in jest, the remark about Epic's lack of budget was plausibly referring to the fact that creating an authentic version of Peter Griffin in Fortnite would have required the developer to go beyond designing a mere skin. Namely, Epic would have had to completely rebalance the character if it went with his original design, as it would otherwise be asking players to spend money on a skin that comes with larger hitboxes, essentially making them lose way more easily.
I was told that they didn't have the budget to create [Peter Griffin's] actual body, so they had to like stick his head on a… it was like that TV Guide cover from the '90s where they put Oprah's head on Ann-Magret's body.
MacFarlane isn't the first stakeholder that offered insight into the final look of the recently debuted Family Guy skin, as Fortnite itself shared a hilarious animation explaining Peter Griffin's body type change back in December. According to that canon source, Swole Cat Set mascot Meowscles provided Peter with a can of expired Slurp Juice that helped the character get ripped in an instant.
Fortnite players have until the end of Chapter 5: Season 1 to unlock the Peter Griffin skin. The latest season of Epic's hit game runs until March 8. Obtaining this limited-time cosmetic requires purchasing the Fortnite Battle Pass, priced at $9.99, then playing the game until hitting BP level 70. Peter Griffin is far from the only draw of the game's latest seasonal subscription, as the Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 1 Battle Pass includes over half a dozen skins in total.
Fortnite is a massively popular game that has several modes, the most famous of which is the online battle royale mode. In this mode, players collect items, build structures, and battle it out to be the ultimate victor.