Fortnite has never been shy about leaning into unlikely collaborations, but a teased crossover with The Office still manages to stand out. This week, Epic Games posted a cryptic image of beets on the official Fortnite social account, paired with the caption “Build. Beets. Battle Royale.” For longtime fans of the sitcom, the reference was unmistakable. It directly riffs on one of the show’s most quoted gags, itself a parody rooted in office boredom rather than action spectacle.
At the time of writing, no formal details have been announced. There are no confirmed cosmetics, no release window, and no indication of how deep the crossover might go. Still, the implication is clear enough. Fortnite appears poised to fold characters from a mockumentary workplace comedy into its ever-expanding pop culture catalog. Whether that means full character skins, novelty back bling, or limited-time emotes remains to be seen, but the teaser alone was enough to spark predictable speculation.
The reference itself points to season three’s “Product Recall” episode, where Jim Halpert impersonates Dwight Schrute with the line “Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica,” needling his desk mate into visible frustration. That exchange, involving Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute, has long since escaped the confines of the episode and become shorthand for the show’s broader cultural footprint. Epic’s decision to center the tease on that joke suggests the collaboration is aimed as much at recognition as it is novelty.
The Office originally aired from 2005 to 2013, adapting a British format into something distinctly American. Its afterlife has arguably eclipsed its original run, driven by streaming availability on platforms like Netflix and Peacock, meme circulation, and the familiarity of its characters. A recent spinoff, The Paper, has only reinforced the idea that the property still carries commercial weight more than a decade after its finale.
Within that context, a Fortnite crossover feels less random than it first appears. Epic has consistently treated Fortnite as a platform rather than a single game, absorbing properties that range from animated sitcoms like The Simpsons to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Sabrina Carpenter, alongside professional wrestling tie-ins with WWE. Universal Television has also shown a willingness to place The Office in unexpected spaces, including a crossover with Magic: The Gathering that raised similar eyebrows last year.
If anything, the teased collaboration underscores Fortnite’s ongoing strategy: pursue recognizability over thematic consistency. Whether The Office content becomes a brief novelty or a more substantial presence will depend on execution, but the teaser alone confirms that few properties are truly off-limits anymore.
