The Future of Game Development is Here: Unreal Editor for Fornite Launches Beta.
Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine 5 and hit video games like Fornite, announced during GDC that an editor for its game is now available in a public Beta. They say that the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is: “...a new way to design, develop, and publish content into Fortnite that takes advantage of the Unreal Editor’s development workflows and proven PC-based toolset.”
It is very similar to what games like Roblox, Team Fortress, or even Counter Strike have. Fortnite, however, will take it to the next level; the Unreal Editor for Fornite is a robust tool that will allow creators to make virtually anything. They can design scenarios, add textures, create missions, and a lot more.
The tool combines the power of the Unreal Engine and the already launched Fornite creation toolset. This will allow players and creators to make something even more complex than the ‘Islands’ we have seen them create. The possibilities are endless.
There is a significant need for creator tools.
Epic Games saw an opportunity because according to them: “more than one million player-built islands have been published by their creators, and more than 40% of player game time in Fortnite is spent in creator-built content.”
The numbers speak for themselves; there is a huge ‘market’ for creation tools. Perhaps Epic Games is breeding the next generation of game designers. Without a doubt, making these kinds of tools available to everyone is a great call. It tends to be a big part of the community in video games, which is the creative side.
UEFN is compatible with an already robust ecosystem.
UEFN will work in tandem with new tools like Verse, which will allow creators to add scripts alongside their content. For example, an Unreal Engine expert can work, and live edit at the same time with a creator that is experienced in Fortnite Create and still creates new experiences. Verse uses many of the building blocks that author the game mechanics.
Another important thing to mention is that Epic Games is introducing Creator Economy 2.0. People can not only feature their content in a publishing portal, but will receive a steady revenue based on the engagement that the content created has. This will allow teams of people that have worked together on a robust content made for Fortnite, generate profit from it.
Shaping the future.
It certainly feels like a ‘micro’ game development cycle. The possibilities are endless; teams can also hire marketing experts to further promote their creations, hence, increasing the engagement it can have in the portal.
Looks like Epic Games, and Unreal Engine is changing the way video games are made. It is bringing closer to everyone complex creation tools that have an intuitive interface. They will certainly breed the new generation of game developers.
Comments