Kernel Hearts and Fortnite are crossing over before Ephemera Games' roguelike launch in September, giving the indie game a major promotional boost through Epic's cosmetic-sharing program.
Fernet Outfit Arrives at the Fortnite Shop This August
A First for Latin American Developers
Kernel Hearts officially makes its debut in Fortnite first before its full game release. Players who pre-purchase the game through the Epic Games Store starting August 17th at 1:00 PM ET will receive the Fernet Outfit in Fortnite, as long as the purchase is made on the same Epic Games account used to play Fortnite. The offer carries over once the game fully launches on September 17, so players who wait to buy it at release will still be eligible to claim.
The promotion runs through an Epic Games Store program launched earlier this year that ties in qualifying purchases to Fortnite cosmetics, giving smaller studios a way to reach a much larger audience through the battle royale's massive playerbase. It also adds a milestone for Ephemera Games, making them the first game studio from Argentina and Latin America to take part in said program.
From Four Friends to a Global Stage
Ephemera Games founder and studio director Akira described the moment he told his team about the Fortnite crossover as one of the happiest of his career, as development was a constant effort to prove a concept is worth pursuing. Getting to put a character the studio cares about in front of such a massive audience, working directly alongside Epic's art and production teams, felt like validation that Kernel Hearts was heading in the right direction. The studio’s origins, he noted, began as just four friends building the game they'd always wanted to play.
Akira also pointed to a more personal moment tied to the news. His mother works with children, several of whom are big Fortnite fans, and when she told them her son would have a character that he made in the game, a few started saying they wanted to pursue game development themselves someday.
The scale of the opportunity really hit him: a project that began as a small project in Latin America could end up inspiring someone else to make their own game. He closed by thanking Epic for giving an indie LATAM studio a spot in a collaboration this size, making this an experience he and the team will carry with them for the rest of their careers.
What is Kernel Hearts?
Kernel Hearts is a roguelike adventure that starts players off as part of the M.A.H.O.U. Unit, an elite squad of android fighters with magical-girl-style powers. They’re tasked with climbing the Tower of Babel to take down a god and prevent the world's destruction. The action RPG can be played either solo or in co-op with up to three other players, sending squads through floors filled with angelic enemies and domain bosses.
With each run, the tower lets players pick up temporary skills that alter their attacks, spells, and movement, letting them chain together combos suited to that specific attempt. Falling in battle doesn't end progress entirely, as defeated squads return to a lab, using rewards earned from previous runs to unlock and equip skill chips onto a unit, letting players fine-tune their character’s loadout and growth.
One added challenge is that staying too long in one area draws out stronger enemies thanks to a curse tied to the tower itself. Players can tap into the tower's energy to temporarily dispel that curse, using magical transformations that can unleash a stronger attack on nearby foes. Apart from combat, each celestial domain in the tower is home to unique characters players can meet, with some relationships capable of blossoming into newfound friendships or something more.
Kernel Hearts launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on September 17, 2026. A demo is already available now on both Steam and the Epic Games Store for players who want a preview before launch.
