Fortnite is, without a doubt, one of the most popular games in the world. It has such a strong hold on a culture that our “metaverse future” will probably be inside its all-consuming smorgasbord. In Fortnite, you can wear Nikes. In Fortnite, you can listen to an Ariana Grande show. What else is still suitable for children? And yet, I’m sure everything that’s happened so far is just the tip of the iceberg after seeing Epic’s new tools for making the game.
The basics might sound like a minor deal on paper: Epic is changing its Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Unreal Editor is a set of game developers’ tools to make big games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s also becoming popular in Hollywood (The Mandalorian famously uses it). This version of Unreal Editor will come out simultaneously as a change called Fortnite Creative 2.0.
When you think about how Fortnite already has built-in tools that players can use to make their games and experiences, adding Unreal doesn’t sound like such a crazy idea. All of the big things that players can do in Unreal, like making new modes and maps, are already possible in some way. Now, though, everything will be faster, easier, and nicer. You’ll have more options. You’ll also be able to use the many models, animations, and textures already made for the engine in other games. I can’t even begin to think of all the things that could happen now, but the first thing that comes to mind is a new game where Thomas the Tank Engine scares everyone. We follow the rules in this house.
Fortnite could last forever if the Unreal Editor were used
More generally, we’ve repeatedly seen that big games with many ways to change them are some of the most influential games in the industry. We joke that they will never die and turn them on when we get tired of what’s out there. These games may be over ten years old, but someone is probably making new content for them as you read this.
But games like Skyrim, GTA V, or Minecraft are hard to find. Ironically, games like Fortnite have shifted the industry towards live service games that may not last a year. These tightly controlled experiences don’t allow modding or smaller games that can’t have the same cultural impact as the big-budget games that built this industry in the first place because there are so many “always online” games, anything that would normally be a mod is often sold as DLC or an expansion if it isn’t just punished for existing.
There are still mods and player-made experiences, but that perfect storm of juggernaut games that never end because players keep the train going has, for a long time, seemed almost impossible to recreate outside of maybe Roblox.