A current annual evaluate from Epic Video games reported sturdy development in Fortnite’s creator program. The variety of customers constructing customized content material within the massively profitable battle royale recreation practically tripled year-over-year, and the variety of distinctive creations doubled. Though Roblox remains to be far bigger, some imagine Fortnite may grow to be the YouTube of gaming.
In accordance with Epic, 2024 noticed round 70,000 Fortnite customers create situations in Unreal Editor for Fortnite, a user-generated content material platform that includes a few of Unreal Engine 5’s superior instruments. The determine is a considerable enhance from the 24,000 reported in 2023. The variety of “islands,” or Fortnite person creations, totaled 198,000 final 12 months. Most had been constructed utilizing the Unreal Editor, exposing hundreds to a possible gateway into correct Unreal Engine improvement.
Moreover, round 70 p.c of Fortnite gamers explored user-generated content material. Custome situations account for over one-third of the time customers spend taking part in Fortnite, suggesting that the person base now not views it as solely a battle royale recreation.
Analyst Julia Alexander in contrast the expansion of Fortnite creations to YouTube’s creator financial system. Each platforms intention to maximise customers’ time spent on them by paying creators to make authentic content material. Epic paid $352 million to Fortnite creators in 2024, up 11 p.c year-over-year.
One essential distinction Alexander observes between Fortnite and YouTube is the previous’s relative lack of content material that considerably deviates from Fortnite’s commonplace gameplay. YouTube has developed to supply movies on virtually any topic conceivable, however Epic’s report additionally highlights more and more numerous Fortnite creations.
About 30 p.c of playtime in Fortnite’s user-generated content material this month was spent on genres with out fight, reminiscent of horror, social roleplay, or get together video games – a big enhance from January 2024. Epic additionally cited particular creations incorporating RPG and simulation administration components. These had been probably attainable as a result of creator instruments Epic launched final 12 months, reminiscent of a first-person digicam, proximity chat, person interface controls, and customized NPCs.
Nonetheless, Bloomberg reviews that Fortnite nonetheless lags behind Roblox, which paid creators $741 million in 2023 and grew its participant base by 24 p.c final 12 months in comparison with Fortnite’s 15 p.c. Analysts informed the outlet that Fortnite’s hottest customized modes come from Epic, whereas Roblox is designed completely round user-made experiences.
Epic as soon as said that it needs Fortnite and Unreal to grow to be akin to a Metaverse. Whereas that phrase has much less buzz than it used to, a contest to construct one thing prefer it has emerged between Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. Even Meta hasn’t given up. In its newest earnings report, Meta misplaced one other $5 billion in VR Metaverse R&D final 12 months, exhibiting it hasn’t deserted Zuck’s Metaverse ambitions.
