From gameplay to reality: Cambridge's Hacksmith brings Fortnite's Fizzooka to life

Karis Mapp · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

In a limited-time collaboration with Mentos, Fortnite players are capable to usage the Fizzooka in the game, which draws inspiration from the experimentation of dropping the minty candy into Coca-Cola. 

This marks the archetypal clip the fashionable operation has appeared connected a gaming platform. The Fizooka has the quality to hitch retired subordinate builds with a azygous changeable oregon blast opponents crossed the map.

While gamers astir the satellite are enjoying the customized rocket launcher, a radical of Cambridge-based engineers person turned the Fizzooka into a reality. 

The Hacksmith, famously known for transforming fictional ideas from comics, movies and video games into moving prototypes connected their YouTube bid Make it Real, was approached to marque a mentation of the fizzy bazooka. 

The existent beingness Mentos Fizzooka is implicit a metre agelong and "can sprout a soda geyser with the unit of a firehose," reads a media merchandise from Mentos.

Ian Hillier, main operating serviceman of Hacksmith Industries, said they wanted to marque definite the Fizzooka they created was much than conscionable for show.

"Here astatine Hacksmith, we similar to crook things up to 11 and cola and Mentos, portion it is rather reactive, it wasn't arsenic reactive arsenic we wanted it to beryllium for our mentation due to the fact that we wanted to beryllium capable to sound things implicit and person rather the convulsive launch," Hillier said. 

"So we enactment the Mentos successful and fto that react, but past we besides added 1,000 PSI (pounds per quadrate inch) of nitrogen down it."

In the abbreviated video posted to their YouTube account, Hillier tin beryllium seen being knocked implicit from the recoil of the weapon. 

"It ended up being rather heavy, which past made it rather hard to wield due to the fact that you're holding this 50-pound bazooka connected your enarthrosis and trying to purpose it and propulsion the trigger and not get knocked over," helium said.

Since being posted connected March 25, much than 100 1000 radical person watched the video. That's not uncommon for the account, has implicit 15 cardinal subscribers, making it 1 of the largest Canadian YouTube channels.

In the past, the Hacksmith has tackled creations arsenic large arsenic airy sabers, Ironman exertion and Thor's hammer. 

Ali-A, a fashionable U.K.-based gaming streamer said the Fizzooka is 1 of the astir unsocial weapons he's ever utilized connected the platform. 

"There's ne'er been a much effectual anti-building limb successful Fortnite," helium said portion trying it for the archetypal clip connected a unrecorded stream. 

Mentos senior planetary marque communications and activation manager Hugues Leydier said successful a media merchandise that the institution is blessed to beryllium "shaking up the satellite of gaming" with the Fizzooka. 

Up next, the squad is recreating the iconic powerfulness armour suit from the Fallout franchise. 

"We've got 4 videos retired close now. We've got 2 much coming retired soon and astir apt much aft that but we're making a real, bulletproof-powered armour with each the tech built in," Hillier said. 

As for the virtual Fizzooka, Fortnite players person until Monday, April 6 to springiness it a try.