Epic Games finally shares more details about the Unreal Editor for Fortnitethat allows creators to use tools from Unreal Engine to build games and experiences specifically for them Fortnite.
“Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a new PC application for designing, developing and publishing games and experiences directly in Fortnite,” Epic said in a description of the tools. on the Epic Games Store. “With many of Unreal Engine 5’s powerful tools and workflows at your fingertips, including custom asset imports, modeling, materials, and VFX, Sequencer, and Control Rig, you have a whole new world of options for producing and publishing games and experiences for Fortnite. millions of players can enjoy.” Epic is also introducing a new programming language, Verse, as part of UEFN.
The new tools will likely be a significant step up from what’s already offered in the in-game Creative mode, which Epic launched in 2018. Experiences built in Creative mode account for about half of all Fortnite game time, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games said in an April Fast company interview, and some creators have built lucrative businesses creating maps for brands with the tools currently available. But UEFN could lead to games far beyond what is currently possible in Creative. UEFN also moves Fortnite more squarely in competition with robloxwhich offers its own set of custom developer tools for creators.
UEFN launches on March 22, the same day as Epic’s big State of Unreal keynote, so if you want to learn more about the tools you might want to tune into the keynote live stream. According to the description from the Epic Games Store, UEFN will launch as beta and the tools will evolve “to add more functionality that creators know from the Unreal Editor, give creators control over even more aspects of their Fortnite experiences, and expand the possibilities of the Verse API and framework.”
UEFN, also known as ‘Creative 2.0’, has been in development for a while. The company planned to show it off in December, but canceled that at the last minute because the tools weren’t working that day.
