After murder charges against the singer, Epic Games offered refunds for D4vd cosmetics
D4vd built his early audience partly through Fortnite. The singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, used to post clips of himself playing the game set to his own music, and that visibility helped launch his career. The relationship between Burke and the game eventually became official, with Epic Games adding his music and likeness to the platform as part of a formal partnership.
That history makes the current situation harder to untangle.
Burke was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Officials said Hernandez had threatened to expose their relationship. Burke pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. His charges include first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating a dead body. His defense team has said the evidence will show he did not kill Hernandez and that he was not the cause of her death.
Hernandez’s remains were discovered last September in the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke’s name. The vehicle had been impounded after being reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. Employees at the tow yard reported a foul odor and contacted law enforcement.
What Fortnite had in the game
There are four items in Fortnite connected to the singer, including the song Locked & Loaded, which served as the official anthem for the 2025 Fortnite Global Championship. That song was released on September 3, 2025, five days before Celeste’s body was found. The collaboration also included the Feel It and Trophy Drop emotes, a Locker Bundle, and Jam Tracks featuring his music.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman described Burke as a charged sexual predator and called the murder horrific and gruesome in nature. As details of the case spread, pressure on Epic Games to respond mounted quickly.
Fortnite’s response and what it actually means
Fortnite announced on Sunday that it would offer refunds to players who had purchased D4vd cosmetics. Starting April 28, anyone who bought one of the associated items could request an immediate self-service refund through the game’s support system.
What the company did not do was remove the content entirely. Epic said it did not have anything additional to share beyond its public statement on the refunds. The Feel It and Trophy Drop emotes are set to be added to the Confrontational Emotes list on May 14, giving players the option to hide them from view. That is a filter, not a deletion.
The distinction matters to a significant portion of the player base.
A Fortnite player base split down the middle
Reactions to the refund announcement spread across social media within hours. On one side, players argued that offering money back while keeping the content available was an inadequate response to charges of this severity. On the other, some players who had purchased the items pushed back on calls for full removal, arguing that their purchases should not be invalidated.
The debate reflects a tension that gaming companies have struggled with before, weighing the rights of paying customers against the ethical weight of keeping a charged individual’s content visible and accessible in a platform used by millions, including minors.
Collaborators cutting ties
Outside of Fortnite, the fallout has moved faster. Singer Kali Uchis announced plans to pull her collaboration with Burke, a track called Dreamy, from streaming platforms. Streamer JasonTheWeen, who had previously worked with Burke on the song Summer Uptown, stated publicly that he had been trying to remove the track for months and had been unable to do so.
Burke is scheduled to return to court on May 1 for a preliminary hearing. Until that process moves forward, the legal picture remains incomplete and the presumption of innocence applies. His defense team has been explicit that they intend to contest the charges.
For Epic Games, the question is not just legal. It is about what a platform built in part by this artist’s early presence owes to its community now that the circumstances have changed so drastically.