Today, Epic released the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (or UEFN), an absurdly powerful set of modding tools that have already been used to transform battle royale into all-new kinds of games.
Fortnite has enabled and encouraged robust custom maps and game modes for some time through its Creative Mode, but UEFN adds much deeper creative functionality directly from Unreal Engine 5. This means users will be able to create entirely new games in Fortnite, similar to Roblox. The difference here is that Fortnite is built on one of the most comprehensive and graphically robust game engines out there, so there’s a much higher ceiling on what you can build on.
To demonstrate what UEFN can do, Epic has released three of its own creations built using the tools now available to the public. Forest Guardian (island code 0348-4483-3263) brings you a single-player melee battle against a swarm of wolves under the gaze of a massive dragon boss, seemingly inspired by the grand fantasy vistas of the Soulsborne and Elden bloodline .
The Space Inside (island code 9836-7381-5978) is an atmospheric puzzle game with a decidedly spooky atmosphere. There’s even a first-person segment that looks like the first step towards a remake of the Silent Hill PT teaser.
Call of Duty’s Domination mode recreated in Fortnite’s new Creative mode, with Rust elements. Seriously, Activision, what happened? pic.twitter.com/5tO5RG8akRMarch 22, 2023
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Perhaps most notable is Deserted: Domination (island code 8035-1519-2959), an 8v8 point-capture game that works almost exactly like Call of Duty’s Domination mode. Longtime CoD fans were very impressed, especially since the map seems to directly evoke the Rust map from the series.
The question, of course, is how long it will take normal developers and modders to create quality work similar to what Epic has done in-house. However, the publisher is certainly creating incentives: as part of an overhauled payment system for creators, it promises to pay 40% of net Fortnite Item Shop revenue to creators who more effectively attract new players and employ new players. to come back. . If you need a refresher, Fortnite makes billions of dollars every year, so that’s no small amount of money.
For a more technical breakdown of how UEFN works, check out the official site – opens in a new tab. For now, I’m looking forward to the first round of community builds with these new tools to start landing.
Is Fortnite number one among best battle royale games? Maybe, but now it’s so much more than that.