Are anthems for games cringe? They can be, but Fortnite is hoping to avoid that with its new collaboration with viral rapper d4vd. The Here For Me artist is known for making waves and going viral on TikTok. Now, this Fortnite d4vd combination is doing something the game has never done before: releasing an official anthem.
What does it mean to have an anthem? Whether it's Linkin Park lending Heavy is the Crown to League of Legends or bbno$ dropping some bars for Valorant, a major banger can set the tone. It's a declaration of what a battle royale game or FPS game is about, and it surprises me that Fortnite has gone this long without one. There have been fan-made efforts over the years, but an official track is a big deal.
It's quite poetic that d4vd is the one to handle anthem duties for Fortnite. After discovering indie gems and SoundCloud artists on their laptop, montages of the game give them a deeper appreciation for music. He even had goals of becoming a professional player like Ninja, starting a YouTube channel under the name 'Antonio'.
Locked and Loaded is the title of the new track, and follows his singles What Are You Waiting For and Crashing from earlier this year. Releasing on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, you can hear from it at 5:00 PM PT, 8:00 PM ET, and on Thursday, September 4, 2025, 1:00 AM BST in the United Kingdom.
You'll find it across your preferred streaming services shortly after, but a music video for the song also lands on YouTube at the same time. It marks the rapper's second crossover with gaming, having performed the track Remember Me in Arcane Season 2. I wonder whether dv4d's contributions trickle into Fortnite Festival or the Jam Stage. It'd be a missed opportunity to leave the song out of the Item Shop, after all.
This is exciting, though. Now that Locked and Loaded is kicking off Fortnite's wider musical aspirations, I'm eager to see who Epic Games picks next. The likes of Billie Eilish, Metallica, The Weeknd, and Gorillaz have made a trip to the Festival stage, so maybe it's time to knock on their doors again. Can you imagine if the thing that gets Daft Punk to reform is Fortnite?
While you wait to give the song a listen, you can get some Fortnite codes or dive into some Fortnite Creative maps. Among them all, Fortnite Steal a Brainrot is breaking records outside of its original Roblox version.