Dread it, run from it, an Avengers: Infinity War / Fortnite crossover arrives May 8

Thanos, AKA The Mad Titan, AKA The Reason You Left Avengers: Infinity War in tears, is coming to Fortnite season 4 on May 8 for a limited time. Yes. Really.

You can see some sweet, sweet Fortnite Thanos gameplay right here, and here's how it'll work: Separate from the usual Fortnite Battle Royale modes will be a "Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup," according to Entertainment Weekly. This mode will play out much like a standard 100-player battle royale, but with the added twist that hiding somewhere on the map is Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet. Pick it up and you'll transform into Thanos himself, wielding all the powers of the Infinity Stones.

What that actually plays like, we don't know yet. Can you grab a moon and throw it at other players using the Power Stone? Can you place a decoy and fool your enemies, or turn their weapons into toys using the Reality Stone? Can you snap your fingers and wipe out half the remaining players, as Gamora warns in the movie's trailer? I gotta admit, if that last one happened to me, I couldn't even be mad. It might be unfair, but I gotta respect giving a player that amount of godlike power.

The Fortnite x Avengers: Infinity War mashup came about because Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo are fans of Epic Games' uber-popular free-for-all. "Over the past few months, while we were editing Infinity War, we’d take breaks to hop on and get in a few games," Joe told EW. "And then we started thinking, how cool would it be to have some kind of Avengers, Fortnite mashup? So we stalked Donald [Mustard, Epic Games' worldwide creative director]."

Look, I don't usually toss out the word "epic" but I think this is one of those rare cases where it fits. Fortnite has, as recently as February, claimed to have more than 3 million concurrent players, while Avengers: Infinity War set opening weekend records and has since racked up more than $1 billion in just 11 days (another record, by the way). When it comes to entertainment media, you don't get much bigger than these two properties.

If you want to hop in before tomorrow's event, be sure to check out our Fortnite Battle Pass Challenges guide and Fortnite Tier 100 challenge guide so you'll be armed and ready to take down Thanos.

Get the best games and entertainment news, reviews, tips and offers delivered to your inbox every week by signing up to the GamesRadar+ newsletter today.

Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.