[Held on 10/25 (Sun)] Kurashiki City x Fortnite Opening Event - The "Bikan Historical Area" is born in a game played by 500 million people worldwide. Let's play together with professional eSports players.

Do you know the game Fortnite (hereinafter referred to as "フォートナイト")?

It is a popular game with over 500 million accounts registered worldwide. My child has been playing it for over four years since the fifth grade.

Wouldn't you be curious to hear that the Bikan Historical Area of Kurashiki appears in Fortnite?

I would like to introduce the free participation "Kurashiki City × Fortnite Opening Event" to be held on October 25, 2026 (Sunday).

What is the "Kurashiki City × Fortnite Opening Event"?

The "Kurashiki City × Fortnite Opening Event" will be held at the Disaster Management Center of the Kurashiki City Office on October 25, 2026 (Sunday).

It is positioned as the opening event for the "Kurashiki City Tourism Digital Content (3D City Model × FORTNITE) Project" promoted by Kurashiki City.

Utilizing the open data 3D city model "PLATEAU" provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, this project aims to meticulously recreate the Bikan Historical Area of Kurashiki within the globally popular game "Fortnite," allowing children in Kurashiki to rediscover the charm of their hometown through digital technology and share it with the world.

The schedule for the day is divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with the following programs planned.

1. Map First Reveal & Explanation
   The completed Fortnite Bikan Historical Area map will be unveiled. Key points of production and the charm spots of Kurashiki scattered throughout the game will be explained clearly.
2. Lecture "How to Become a Creator?" (Tenshabi Co., Ltd.)
   The behind-the-scenes of game and digital content production will be explained in an easy-to-understand manner.
3. Pro eSports Players Demo Play & Talk
   Demo play of Fortnite by players "Hagi" and "Choco," along with a talk session discussing their path to becoming professionals. Commentary on the gameplay will be provided by Mr. Kawase.
4. Exchange Match with Pro Players (Prop Hunt Format)
   Participants at the venue will actually play the Bikan Historical Area map. Both pro players "Hagi" and "Choco" will join the same map for a "exchange match" where they enjoy hide-and-seek together. Mr. Kawase will provide commentary on the gameplay. Participants need to bring their own gaming devices.
5. Game Production Experience Workshop (Tenshabi Co., Ltd.)
   A workshop where participants can experience creating actual game scenes.
   Each session will have a capacity of 10 people (groups), and a total of 3 sessions will be held.

Participants must be elementary school students or older. Although Fortnite is originally a game aimed at those aged 12 and older, this time, by requiring parental accompaniment, elementary school students can also participate.

The capacity is 200 people, and participation will be determined by a lottery from pre-application via the Kurashiki City Electronic Application Service.
For more details, please check the image below.

Interview with the Kurashiki City Tourism Division

I spoke with 大源学Daigen Manabu from the Kurashiki City Tourism Division about the "Kurashiki City × Fortnite Opening Event."

Can you tell us about the background of the project?

Daigen (no honorifics)

In Kurashiki City, the department responsible for urban planning was creating 3D data of the Bikan Historical Area to check the landscape. This is a full-fledged 3D data including building heights.

Since we had gone to the trouble of creating this data, we were considering how else it could be utilized, and the idea came up to attract game users as tourists. After discussions with several game companies, it was decided to proceed with this project, as it was possible to achieve a detailed recreation while keeping costs down by utilizing this data.

The reason we chose Fortnite among many games is that it allows for a more accurate recreation than other games' 3D environments, and it has a large number of global users. As part of Kurashiki City's city promotion and inbound strategy, we wanted to create a lifelike Kurashiki within a globally recognized game content, which has become the starting point of the project to create new connections with people around the world.

Originally, Fortnite was a battle royale game, but the developer Epic Games has started to provide a feature called "Creative Mode," which allows users to create games freely at no cost.

Using this feature, several tourist sites across the country have already been recreated, and Kurashiki City is also following this trend, aiming for high fidelity while incorporating the latest gaming elements.

Can you tell us about the highlights of this event and points to pay attention to?

Daigen

Above all, it is the realism of the recreation. I think you will be surprised by its realism when you actually play it.

The game format adopts a "Prop Hunt," which is a hide-and-seek style game where players are divided into two sides: the hiders (props) and the seekers (hunters).

The hiders transform into various objects in the town to blend into the scenery, while the seekers aim to find everyone within a time limit. There will be no expressions of attack or destruction. It is also characterized by its commitment to peaceful content.

Throughout the game, there will be a mechanism to display Kurashiki's history and trivia, so I hope that while playing, participants can naturally develop a fondness for Kurashiki.

On the day of the event, we will invite two pro players from the local pro eSports team "SETOUCHI SPARKS" to showcase their genuine play skills up close. It will be an opportunity to directly experience the greatness of professionals that is usually only seen through screens like YouTube.

After that, we plan to have an exchange match involving pre-registered participants, where pro players will also join. It will not be a competitive game but rather a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone, so I hope many will participate.

SETOUCHI SPARKS - The first pro eSports team in Chugoku and Shikoku, challenging the world from Kurashiki

Do you know eSports? It is said that the number of competitors worldwide reaches 130 million, spreading across the globe. In Japan, it is gradually becoming more popular, and in 2019, it became a national sport...

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Finally, do you have a message for the readers?

Daigen

Everyone from the game production companies, the pro players, and we, the staff of Kurashiki City, are working hard to prepare.

It is quite a challenge for the government to engage in game production, but we have been working on it with the desire to provide children with what they want to do in a safe and enjoyable way.

I hope you will listen to your child's voice of "I want to go" and participate together as a family.
Games are often perceived negatively, but I believe that enjoying them as a tool can also be an opportunity to learn more about the Bikan Historical Area and foster a love for the local community.

It will surely be an exciting and fun experience for children, so I hope many will participate.

Conclusion

Fortnite is famous as a battle royale game, and I think it is a challenge for the government to engage in initiatives using such games.

Some may think it is inappropriate to make the Bikan Historical Area a battlefield.

However, it seems that this initiative has been undertaken with consideration in that regard.
The official X account is regularly posting images of the 3D Bikan Historical Area. Why not start by supporting this initiative that is about to begin?

Fortnite × Official Kurashiki City Tourism (@kurashiki_ft) on X

X (formerly Twitter)

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