Fortnite has added an AI-powered Darth Vader NPC to the game that uses the voice of James Earl Jones – and Star Wars fans are furious.
Last month, Fortnite confirmed a wave of Star Wars characters and other goodies would be added to the online battle royale game as part of its Galactic Battle event.
According to an official blog on the Star Wars website, Fortnite: Galactic Battle will include the ability to pilot and co-pilot X-wings and TIE fighters as well as themed map locations. Mace Windu will be added to the Fortnite shop while a Star Wars-themed battle pass will also be available, “featuring iconic characters like Emperor Palpatine and mashups like Wookiee Cuddle Team Leader“. Five, week-long events were also confirmed.
Over the weekend, Fortnite also added an AI-powered Darth Vader that uses the voice of the late James Earl Jones.
Heard there’s someone new at Vader Samurai’s Solitude 👀 https://t.co/FN41z6hzHV pic.twitter.com/GIbiw2xN6Z
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) May 16, 2025
“Strategise with the ultimate Sith Lord. With your voice. And he’ll respond back using conversational AI,” reads a statement from Epic Games. “Darth Vader has touched down once again as a boss in Battle Royale. Ask him all your pressing questions about the Force, the Galactic Empire… or you know, a good strat for the last Storm circle. The Sith Lord has opinions.”
Epic Games went on to say that Darth Vader “wouldn’t be nearly as sinister without the legendary performance of James Earl Jones,” who voiced Vader in the Star Wars films. They also shared a statement from Jones’ family. “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”
“It doesn’t matter if the family thinks it’s cool or not, it’s still disturbing to use a dead man’s voice for your kid’s shooter,” wrote one fan. “Do you really think resurrecting dead people for monetary profit is going to stop here, especially with Disney?” asked another. “I will not partake in the act of Digital Necromancy and I will openly judge everyone who does. Shame on you all,” added a third.
Soon after Darth Vader was added into the game, players were getting the character to swear and use homophobic slurs.
Nobody:…
Fortnite Darth Vader AI: https://t.co/2bpXHRb3Dh pic.twitter.com/ukuxGjQTEt
— Flash (@_Flash_Au) May 17, 2025
“Don’t know why they thought this was a good idea. Trying to program an AI to just ignore the existence of certain topics in a scenario where hundreds of thousands of people are interacting with it in a video game was never going to work,” wrote one fan. “Took streamers like an hour to get it to say the F word, you just know there are people actively trying to get it to say some truly bigoted stuff right now, and they’ll probably succeed eventually.”
“This is awful. Genuinely dystopian and honestly kinda sinister in a way I can’t explain,” added another fan. “This is really disappointing. I wasn’t a big fan of a Star Wars season but throwing AI into the mix is absolutely butchering any excitement I might have had for the future of Fortnite. I hope this feature leaves and never comes back,” wrote a third.
Fortnite’s Star Wars season is due to run until June with Mandalorian Rising (May 22), Star Destroyer Bombardment (May 29) and Death Star Sabotage (June 7) events still to take place. All three will “lead up to an in-game narrative live event that will surely have players feeling like they’ve got the fate of the whole galaxy in their hands.”
In other news, EA has revealed the soundtrack for F1 2025, with Jamie xx, Aflie Templeman, The Dare and more all set to feature.