After Joining Call Of Duty And Fortnite, Jason Voorhees Is Getting His Own Game Again

It’s the Halloween season in Call of Duty and Fortnite, and naturally, that means familiar faces are turning up in each game like they do every spooky season. In a rare move, there’s one villainous slasher who is actually making his debut in both games this October: Jason Voorhees.

As the star of Friday the 13th, Jason is currently “between jobs,” you could say, after Friday the 13th: The Game was forced to end sooner than players or creators expected due to a legal snafu some years back. Fans are clamoring for a new game starring Jason, and one is coming, Horror Inc. executive vice president Robbie Barsamian told GameSpot. Though the team doesn’t have many specifics to share on that project as of now, I caught up with Barsamian to discuss the team’s famous monster and his guest spots in other games this month.

With Fortnite’s lighter tone and Call of Duty’s emphasis on more mature themes, it’s as though Jason were reimagined twice, with the towering killer giving fans two different sides of himself–and it’s all wrapped up in the new Jason design helmed by Greg Nicotero of The Walking Dead fame.

Below you can read my interview with Barsamian on how the Jason Universe team worked with both teams to make Jason fit each world, how the new design came to be, and what’s next for the slasher.

With the Greg Nicotero-designed Jason, at first glance, he looks quite faithful to the Jason who has persisted as my mental image of him for decades. What were some of the creative decisions that steered his design, and are there any nuances we should look more closely for that maybe we miss at first glance?

We drew inspiration from more classic versions of Jason from the ‘80s movies when we started working with Greg Nicotero. Jason is a strong, towering (over 6’5”!), and terrifying human that is one of the most iconic villains of all time, and we wanted our new design to reflect those classic elements to honor the legacy, while simultaneously refreshing his look for a new era of stories.

We also reimagined the eyes on the mask to make Jason look even more menacing, while reducing the number of holes in the mask to 13 as a fun nod.

Debuting in Call of Duty and Fortnite makes sense given how massive and crossover-friendly those games are, but fans will notice two very different versions of the slasher, with Call of Duty’s naturally being more violent and graphic and Fortnite’s being a bit sillier (like his canoeing emote). How did the various people involved seek to capture Jason’s essence in two similar but importantly different ways?

We are thrilled Jason is stepping into both the Call of Duty and Fortnite worlds for the first time ever this Halloween! Our fans have been asking for these collabs for quite some time, so we’re glad we could deliver during our 45th anniversary celebration year.

We wanted to give players the ultimate Jason experience in each world, so we worked with both teams to ensure he’s still Jason, with his classic physicality and movements—he’s towering and moves with intention–as well as his weapons like the machete and axe. But we also wanted him to be appropriately reimagined for these worlds, which means he uses a gun (which he never does in our movies) and has his exclusive tactical combat skin in Call of Duty, plus fun emotes, back bling, and an overall non-bloody design in Fortnite.

We hope players love playing as and against Jason in both games!

Jason Voorhees is a horror icon for most generations alive today, but I wonder how much younger people know him since he’s been out of the spotlight for some time. Do you have any sense of how big Jason is with the–let’s call it the TikTok generation? These collabs are naturally going to introduce him to some players. So what do you hope they see in him?

Jason is a pop culture icon 45 years later and is recognized and beloved by generations. There are 5.5 BILLION views on TikTok of #Fridaythe13th and #F13 UGC videos, and 3.7 BILLION views of #JasonVoorhees UGC videos. The TikTok generation has come to love the same hockey-mask-wearing killer, just in different ways. For example, the 2017 Friday the 13th game had nearly 15 million players, and many of them found Jason for the first time through the game without ever having seen any of the original movies.

We hope the TikTok generation loves playing with Jason through these new crossovers and getting to know him better whether it’s through gaming, TV with Crystal Lake premiering on Peacock in the near future, movies, or immersive experiences like Halloween Horror Nights.

Does it feel difficult or strange to hand over Jason’s usual aura in these games, where he will inevitably be seen doing things like silly dances and emotes? Is this something where you have to swallow your pride and not be so precious about the character, or is it easier now that players and creators have gotten so used to crossovers like this? Are you mentally prepared to see Jason wearing Jordans and singing Chappell Roan?

We’re excited to see how players in both collabs make Jason their own. In terms of the base Jason design, we made sure to stay true to classic Jason elements, but we know players want to have fun–especially since it’s the first time Jason has entered into this sort of gaming environment. When Jason is in his own world and projects, we are of course committed to giving fans and players a more authentic experience centered around his Camp Crystal Lake legacy.

A good example of reimagining the character for the platform is Jason’s tactical outfit in Call of Duty. What’s the creative process look like when the Jason Universe team and Call of Duty team are going for such a specific crossover like that?

We loved the tactical outfit from the initial sketch the COD team shared with us! We maintained Jason’s body and mask design and overlaid the tactical outfit along with the recolored mask. Adding the machete strapped to his back was a fun nod to classic Jason. Both teams were striving to keep Jason’s essence while considering what he would look like in a way that was more native to the COD world, and I think we nailed it.

When designing gameplay elements like the Slasher mode in Call of Duty or presenting Jason as a boss NPC in Fortnite, what specific moments or movies did you look to for inspiration?

We didn’t look to specific moments or movies as much as we aimed to make sure Jason’s core essence was fully realized. Jason is such a force in the movies, so it was important that he truly feels like one in the games too. Both Slasher Deathmatch and the Jason boss NPC in Fortnite really convey that Jason is a force of nature, in a way that feels distinct and natural to the gameplay of each title.

I was 14 when I excitedly went to the midnight showing of Freddy vs. Jason, and it was probably the coolest thing I’d ever seen to that point in my life as a huge horror fan. Nowadays, Fortnite and Call of Duty sort of offer a version of horror mashups in every match, with Jason joining so many other crossovers from Hollywood’s slashers and monsters. What are your thoughts on seeing fans bring them together in this way?

That’s awesome to hear! As you mention, Jason obviously has that history of crossing paths with a character like Freddy, but they do operate in the shared realm or genre of horror and slashers. These new collabs open things up so much more, allowing Jason to interact with characters in ways that would never happen in an official setting like a movie, giving fans of all backgrounds a way to live out their dreams. So, personally, I think it’s great!

A lot of Jason Voorhees fans are eager for him to get his own game again. Do you have any updates to provide there?

We want that, too. Jason will be back in his own game. Stay tuned!