Fortnite Adds Obsession's Nikki, and the Skin Has Players Split

Nikki from the horror movie Obsession is now in Fortnite, and the skin has players arguing. The outfit hit the Item Shop on the evening of October 21. It's part of Fortnitemares 2026, Epic's annual Halloween celebration. It costs 1,500 V-Bucks on its own, or 2,000 V-Bucks in the Obsession Bundle (Fortnite Item Shop). The bundle also comes with Nikki's Broken Bottle pickaxe, the One Wish Willow back bling and an emote called "No No No..." All of it is set to leave the shop on October 31.

Obsession is writer and director Curry Barker's breakout horror film. It opened in May and has made more than $500 million worldwide on a budget of about $750,000 (Wikipedia). In the movie, Bear (Michael Johnston) breaks a novelty toy called the One Wish Willow and wishes that his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) would love him more than anyone. Vice describes the result as Nikki being forced to "fall in love" with him against her will (Vice).

The skin copies Nikki's red tiger-print outfit from the party scene, and her face can switch between a wide smile and a frown (Forbes). A "splatter" style recreates the blood on her face from that scene. In Fortnite, that blood is a black, oil-like substance. Forbes' Paul Tassi says that's how Fortnite keeps its Teen rating. The Item Shop page also notes that the outfit can't be used in experiences rated Everyone 10+ or below.

Why are players split over the Nikki skin?

Most of the criticism is about the story behind the character. Critics argue that turning a woman whose free will was taken from her into a paid, playable cosmetic misses what the film is about. "Don't love that a character who was robbed of her autonomy is now a playable game character," one player wrote on X (Vice). At Kotaku, Kenneth Shepard wrote that the film's conversations risk being "drowned out by dollar signs" (Kotaku). Some players have called for a boycott of the skin (GamingBible). Others were mostly disappointed by the change to the blood. One wrote that "the black goop on her face instead of blood ruins it" (Vice).

Defenders point out that Fortnite already sells horror characters like Freddy Krueger, who arrived for the same event. Some fans also see the choice of Nikki, and not Bear, as a way of recognizing her (Softonic). "Please let's not reduce Nikki to being just another victim," one player wrote (News Directory 3). Plenty of players had also been requesting this collaboration for months. A fan-made Nikki concept went viral over the summer. Epic then teased an Obsession tie-in with a Fortnite edit of the movie in July (esports.gg).

We couldn't find any public comment from Navarrette about the skin. She did recently tell The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast that she's enjoying the Nikki memes, and that she even sends them to her dad (CinemaBlend). As of October 22, none of the coverage we found includes a statement from Epic Games, Curry Barker, Blumhouse or Focus Features about the criticism. We'll update this story if any of them respond.

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Header image combines the official Nikki outfit render and the Fortnitemares 2026 Item Shop backdrop from Epic Games, via the Fortnite Item Shop. The splatter style image is an official render from Epic Games.