The next trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will not be shown in the cinema or on TV – it will be in Fortnite.

At the Game awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night, director JJ Abrams announced that exclusive footage from the film will be revealed live within the game on Saturday evening. Anyone playing the popular battle-royale shooter at that time will be able to head to the Risky Reels area of the map and watch on a large screen. Star Wars-themed outfits, gliders, pickaxes and emotes have been launched into the game’s item shop.

It’s the latest and most ambitious example of Fortnite being used as a live marketing attraction. To promote Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, Disney tied up a deal with Fortnite developer Epic Games, for a limited-edition Infinity Gauntlet mode, in which players were able to take part in the game as that movie’s villain, Thanos. A similar tie-in was launched for Endgame. In February, dance music artist Marshmello performed a live concert from within the game, attracting an audience of more than 10 million.

Fortnite: Battle Royale has more than 250 million players and has remained one of the most popular video games in the world since its launch in September 2017. With its huge, hard to reach audience of teenagers and twentysomethings, the game has become a focal point for advertisers, with sponsored streams and tie-ins with popular Fortnite influencers such as Ninja.

The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker event is due to start at 7pm GMT on 14 December.