- Maya Higa fronts Fortnite's new "Cuddles and Chaos Collection," a live-action campaign trailer for a Sidekick-focused content drop launching in-game July 23, 2026.
- Higa will lead the collection's adventures live on her Twitch channel as the campaign's creator face.
- The drop adds new creature-based minigames built in UEFN, plus a free Panda Team Jr. Sidekick unlocked through in-game quests.
- This is one of the biggest gaming brand placements yet for the wildlife conservationist, whose public persona centers on animal care through her nonprofit, Alveus Sanctuary.
Maya Higa is the new face of Fortnite’s next big Sidekick push. Epic Games revealed the Cuddles and Chaos Collection this week with a live-action trailer starring the conservationist and Twitch streamer, showing her interacting with Fortnite Sidekicks like Peels and Lil’ Lootie. A text message in the trailer sets the tone: “long day, how about some cuddles and chaos?”
The collection arrives in Fortnite on Thursday, July 23, adding a new set of creature-based games built in UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) where Sidekicks take center stage.
Epic promises fierce Sidekick battles, wild adventures, and deep bonds, with Higa leading the charge live on her Twitch channel. Players who finish four quests across the new maps can unlock a free Panda Team Jr. Sidekick, though full mode details remain limited ahead of launch.
This is Higa’s most visible gaming brand placement to date, and her first known tie-in with Fortnite or Epic Games. The founder of Alveus Sanctuary recently joined National Geographic’s creator cohort and has built her career blending livestreaming with wildlife education, raising more than $7.5 million for conservation causes through her channels.
For Fortnite, tapping a conservationist marks a departure from its usual Icon Series playbook. Just this month, David Beckham made his own Fortnite Icon Series debut, a few weeks after Olivia Rodrigo brought her chart-topping album into the game through her own Icon Series tie-in, following past collaborations with Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, and Sabrina Carpenter.
The Sidekick-focused Cuddles and Chaos push instead leans on Higa’s animal-centered content, signaling Epic wants its growing pet ecosystem tied to a creator known for real-world animal care rather than music or sports star power.
Takeaways
This isn’t a typical Fortnite tie-in. Epic isn’t chasing a chart-topping single or a World Cup window here; it’s borrowing Higa’s built-in trust with an audience that already associates her with animals, care, and community.
Pairing a wildlife educator with a “creature-based” Sidekick mode is about as on-brand as a partnership gets, and it doubles as exposure for Alveus Sanctuary in front of one of gaming’s largest player bases.
This also signals that Epic sees Sidekicks as a long-term pillar rather than a passing pet fad, one worth its own creator-led campaign, the same way music drops get the Icon Series treatment.
Does tapping a conservationist instead of a musician or athlete open the door for more “cause-driven” creators to land major gaming deals? With Sidekicks now getting star-powered marketing, will Epic build out a recurring “creator series” separate from its music-focused Icon Series?
