SWOOSHMAN ENTERS FORTNITE WITH NIKE GT FUTURE TEASER

## The 90s Superhero Returns The Fortnite Item Shop update for February 13, 2026 introduces a surprising Nike collaboration featuring the retro Swoosh Man mascot as a Fishstick variant. Nike Basketball is tapping into the golden age of sports marketing with an upcoming GT Future inspired by the brand's defunct "Swooshman" mascot, first teased via the @dotswoosh Instagram account. Created to champion Nike's futuristic ambitions at the turn of the millennium, Swooshman made his first public appearance at the brand's "Hoop Heroes" event at Yokohama Centre in Tokyo back in 1996. The suit itself was created by Jose Fernandez, best known for his work on the Batman Forever costumes, and reportedly cost a staggering $125,000 to produce. The character lasted exactly one year. It was short-lived, though, as the NSE division abruptly came to a halt during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, which saw sales drop and company-wide cuts made. ## Gaming Crossover Signals Bigger Strategy The bundle will be available beginning February 13th at 7PM ET. It has not yet been confirmed whether the Nike GT Future featured in Fortnite matches the retail pair set to release. But the timing is too perfect to ignore. Nike recently dropped a handful of Swooshman T-shirts on its website seemingly out of nowhere, a quiet move that now reads as a not-so-subtle teaser. You may have also caught wind that Nike is retiring the .SWOOSH website in May, though the sub-brand is still expected to continue releasing sneakers for the foreseeable future, with drops funneled through the Nike SNKRS app. Fortnite gives Nike access to a massive audience before the physical drop. This brings a massive audience for Nike's .SWOOSH with over 240 million users logging into Fortnite in the past 30 days alone. ## The Real Product Preview A recent .SWOOSH teaser showed the character in a shadowy, first-person sequence before revealing a GT Future box, pointing to a metallic silver, red, and black colorway that mirrors the mascot's look. Nike GT Future "Swooshman" releases Spring 2026 for $190. The return feels intentional, as the GT Future's late-'90s aesthetic aligns naturally with Swooshman's futuristic origins. The shoe was already designed for a character who was ahead of his time. This is Nike testing the market with pixels before committing to production. No official release date for the GT Future "Swooshman" has been announced yet, but .SWOOSH releases tend to materialize quickly once the wheels are in motion. Fortnite becomes Nike's focus group. If the skin sells, the shoe drops. If it flops, they pivot. Smart play for a character that bombed the first time around.