Fortnite misses out on adding Metroid series hero Samus because Nintendo insists she must be a Switch-exclusive character for the battle royale.

Former Fortnite lead Donald Mustard has revealed the reason why the popular Battle Royale game has never added Nintendo’s iconic character Samus to its roster. In a recent interview, Mustard explained that Nintendo was hesitant to allow their characters to appear on platforms other than their own, making it impossible for Samus to join the Fortnite universe.

Despite Fortnite’s history of collaborating with various franchises, including Resident Evil and My Hero Academia, Nintendo characters have yet to make an appearance in the game. Mustard expressed Epic Games’ desire to have Nintendo characters in Fortnite, but only if they could be available on all platforms where the game is played.

However, Nintendo’s strict stance on platform exclusivity has made it challenging for Fortnite to include characters like Samus, Link, or Mario in the game. Mustard emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistent experience for players across all devices, which is why Epic Games has been unable to secure a collaboration with Nintendo thus far.

While Mustard’s departure from Epic Games last September leaves room for the possibility of a change in Nintendo’s stance, it seems unlikely that fans will see their favorite Nintendo characters in Fortnite anytime soon. As the battle royale game continues to evolve with new collaborations and updates, the absence of Nintendo characters remains a notable gap in its expansive roster of playable characters.