Manchester City launches Fortnite Creative map

English professional football club Manchester City has launched a themed map in Fortnite Creative.

Known as The Ladder, the creation of the map is the latest step in the club’s efforts to expand its presence within the gaming and esports industries.

Designed in collaboration with marketing company Karta, the map is inspired by Mancheser City’s glyphs, with symbols representing ‘a collection of recognisable icons’ within the City brand. The Ladder contains 11 themed areas where players compete in one-versus-one matches to advance to the next one.

To mark the launch of the map, the club will release a range of content across its social media channels during its men’s first team pre-season tour of the United States. According to a release, ‘special activations’ involving The Ladder will take place around the opening pre-season match against Scottish football club Celtic.

Fortnite Creative remains a solid platform for non-endemic brands to enter the esports and gaming industry. In July 2024, esports event company eFuse partnered with fast food chain Whataburger to launch a themed map and host an esports tournament.

Manchester City is continuing to expand its efforts in gaming and esports. In June 2024, the club unveiled a new gaming facility based inside the Etihad Stadium. Meanwhile, the club’s charity, City in the Community, launched an esports programme in July alongside Oldham College.

Nuria Tarre, Chief Marketing and Fan Experience Officer at City Football Group, spoke on the initiative: “We are delighted to launch our official Fortnite Creative map in collaboration with Epic  Games for gaming and football fans around the globe to enjoy.

“The opportunity to build this world in Fortnite presented a fantastic way to increase our  presence across the competitive gaming space, a natural crossover for our leading sports entertainment brand.”