Fortnite leakers say Lebron James is coming to the game as an Icon Series skin

(Image credit: Warner Bros Entertainment)

It looks very likely that NBA superstar Lebron James will soon be taking his place in Fortnite. Dataminers Hypex and Shiina both say that James will be added as an Icon Series skin in the game's next update.

Shiina made the initial claim about James' arrival as an Icon Series skin, while Hypex followed up with further details, including that players can earn rewards by completing King's Bling quests—James' nickname amongst basketball fans, and also his Twitter handle, is King James—and that items will become "more gold" as you finish quests. If you complete them all, you'll gain access to a slider that lets you customize the level of visible gold in the items.

LeBron James skin is coming next update!- Earn rewards by completing King's Bling quests- Items become more gold as you complete quests! Unlock a custom goldness slider when all quests are complete! https://t.co/HV3M0byBXDJuly 5, 2021

The timing would seem to be right, too. As Dot Esports noted, James set to star in Space Jam: A New Legacy, which will debut in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16. A promotional crossover would be a natural fit, and hardly unprecedented: Epic took part in a crossover event with the NBA as a whole in May ahead of the 2021 playoffs that included the addition of uniforms from all 30 teams, plus a new emote and back bling.

If James does appear in Fortnite as an Icon Series skin, he'll join others including Ninja, Lachlan, LazarBean, Major Lazer, Marshmello, TheGrefg, Travis Scott, and Loserfruit. We'll let you know if and when he turns up.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.