Epic launches Unreal Editor for Fortnite alongside new creator economy

Epic has revealed new ways for Fortnite players to create content and earn money from doing so.

During its State of Unreal conference at GDC, Epic announced the beta launch of Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) alongside what’s it’s calling Creator Economy 2.0.

UEFN is a new PC application for creating and publishing games and experiences directly into Fortnite.

“UEFN works side-by-side with Fortnite’s existing Creative toolset, and teams of creators can work together across PC and console to develop and test islands in real-time,” Epic said.

It has released three tech demos to show what’s possible using UEFN. Deserted: Domination, Forest Guardian and The Space Inside, which are viewable in the trailer above, can be found in the Epic’s Picks Discover row in Fortnite.

The game’s newly launched creator economy centres around engagement payouts to eligible island publishers, including Epic, based on metrics including popularity and player retention.

Epic said it will put 40% of the net revenue from Fortnite’s Item Shop and related real-money purchases into the engagement pool and make payouts monthly.

It explained: “Epic builds and sells Fortnite cosmetics, often working with third-party IP owners to bring their work into Fortnite. Starting March 1, 2023, Epic began reserving 40% of that revenue to distribute it based on the engagement created by eligible island publishers’ creative work, both yours and Epic’s. In this way, Epic will further reward creators for their creative work in Fortnite.

“Epic’s existing Support-A-Creator program that underpinned Creator Economy 1.0 remains, but is returning to its roots as an affiliate marketing program for streamers and social media content creators,” it added.

“We’ve removed the Support-A-Creator device within Fortnite islands to keep gameplay focused on fun. Players can now show support for their favorite creators’ islands simply by playing them.”