UEFN: A Sleeping Giant

Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a set of tools that expands the capabilities of Fortnite Creative, which allows players to create and publish their own games inside Fortnite, in a user generated content (UGC) format that its main competitor, Roblox, employs. Epic Games (creator of Fortnite) recently announced that since UEFN’s launch in 2023, “creators have published more than 80,000 islands (i.e. “games”), and Epic has paid out more than $320m to creators in the first year of engagement payouts” (Epic Games). This was driven by ~15k creators who drew in 130m players to try their experiences (GamesIndustry.Biz).

Despite only launching a year ago, UEFN’s developer ecosystem is rapidly growing and is beginning to rival other creator ecosystems, as evidenced by its burgeoning Discord following (see below).

This week, we dive into the recent developments for the ecosystem and developers and highlight roadblocks that we believe Epic will need to address before the ecosystem can reach its full potential. Specifically, we want to highlight the flywheel that UEFN is using to drive new players, content, and developers to the ecosystem.

UEFN: Ecosystem Developments and Evolving Content

The notion that "Content is King" holds true across all forms of media competing for eyeballs, and UEFN has made this a core focus by prioritizing both partnerships and existing IP.

Owned IP

Epic has slowly built up its internal IP, including the acquisition of Psyonics (Rocket League) in 2019 and Mediatonic (Fall Guys) in 2021, among others. At the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2024, Epic announced several integrations of popular IP into the UEFN platform. These include templates for users to create Rocket League-style race tracks and Fall Guys assets and animations, effectively merging multiple gaming worlds players have traditionally experienced separately.

This integration helps to organically drive players from other parts of Epic’s ecosystem into UEFN, increasing total users and making it more appealing for sponsors and partners.

Partnerships

LEGO: Epic has partnered with many different blockbuster IPs to help populate UEFN with familiar IPs. Among the most interesting was LEGO Fortnite, which was a massive success with almost 2.5 million concurrent players on the day of release (Brick by Brick). In addition to driving players to the platform, LEGO Fortnite brought the Survival Crafting genre to Fortnite. The Survival Crafting genre has exploded in popularity over the years with games like Minecraft, Valheim, Rust, and Terraria. The average age for a Minecraft player is ~24 (PCGamesN), which is generally on par with Fortnite which had 62.7% of players between 18 and 24 in 2018 (Statista).

This partnership bolstered the UEFN flywheel from multiple angles. First, the LEGO brand appeals to people of all ages, encouraging players outside the 18-24 demographic to download and try Fortnite. Second, the Open World Survival Craft genre is substantially different from the traditional 3rd person shooter experience that Fortnite is known for, making the ecosystem appeal to a much broader group of games. Lastly, the new game mode demanded that EPIC create new tools for creators, including things like the day/night cycle (a full day and night cycle in LEGO Fortnite lasts for 30 minutes in the real world) which will be released to developers in Q3. This will help creators make more unique experiences, further driving players to the platform.

Disney: Another more recent announcement was Epic’s partnership with Disney. This partnership will enable players to “watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more” (Disney). While it is currently unclear what exactly the collaboration will consist of, it is likely to include an array of new game modes and IP unique to Disney.

The UEFN flywheel here benefits for similar reasons. Disney IP appeals to people of all ages, but specifically has the ability to appeal to a much younger generation. Driving a much younger demographic to the platform opens up the door for different type of brands, and encourages new developers to come to the platform who specialize in children's content.  

This partnership is also opening the door for new creators to explore different genres and experiences. New IP is driving a broader player base to the platform. New experiences force Epic to create new tools that creators can use to make unique experiences, which will then drive additional players to the platform. This flywheel has been started and we are likely to see more and more unique experiences emerge on the platform from non-combat focused sports games such as Mega Golf Fun Zone to interactive digital sitcoms.

Developer Updates and the 2024 Roadmap

Outside of driving tools for new experiences, Epic has given creators a completely transparent roadmap for feature updates and releases. This is helpful as new studios decide which game and genres they plan to take on next. These updates include core tech, creator templates, creation tools, and publishing tools. Among the most interesting are:

• Level Building Templates: Teach basics of UEFN for aspiring level designers
• Orthographic Camera: Rendering a flattened scene without depth.
• Stat Creator: Minigame stat (similar to Eliminations, Score, Objectives, etc)
• Proximity Chat: Speak to players in a specified proximity
• Lite Client: Reducing the size of the Fortnite download

At a first glance this can look like a standard list of tools provided by an engine. However, what is exciting is the wide variety of new game types that developers can create. For example, orthographic cameras open up the possibility for 2.5D games, Time of Day Manager opens the door for Minecraft-style survival games, and Stat Creator opens up a whole new world of minigames.

Roadblocks and the Path to the Metaverse

Despite the progress that has been made and the roadmap ahead, multiple blockers are still keeping developers from moving to the UEFN platform at scale.

• Game Tools: As mentioned above, we are seeing more tools coming to UEFN. However, until this toolbox is complete, it prohibits certain developers from utilizing the platform to address their specific niche.
• Lack of Analytics: It is still hard for developers to ascertain exactly what makes a high performing game on the platform. Analytics are not as robust as other platforms and figuring out how to remain at the top of the charts has been a difficult task for emerging developers.
• Discovery: Discovery is consistently noted as an issue for developers, especially as more islands (games) are added to the platform. The platform currently sees >600 islands added daily, up from 50 at launch (GamesIndustry.Biz).
• Fortnite as a Funnel: It is unclear exactly how many new users are coming onto UEFN from Fortnite versus organically, however we believe the primary user base is still very closely tied to the Fortnite user base. This poses a problem for developers who are looking to expand outside of the genres that have traditionally appealed to Fortnite players.

Fortunately for developers, tools, analytics, and discovery are all scheduled on the 2024 roadmap; however, how effective these changes will be remains a large question. The answer will be the key to rapidly accelerating growth and the UEFN flywheel. If these are successfully implemented, the hope is that they will naturally begin to solve the “Fortnite as a Funnel” problem and drive a new and diverse player base to the ecosystem.

Takeaway: Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN) has emerged as a top UGC platform contender in the gaming ecosystem despite having launched only a year ago. With over 80,000 worlds created and $320 million paid to creators, UEFN is rapidly building a strong developer community that is beginning to rival established platforms like Roblox. Strategic partnerships with major IPs such as LEGO and Disney have broadened the platform's appeal, driving diverse player demographics. New tools have opened the door for innovative developers to create unique experiences.

However, despite the promising developments, UEFN faces critical challenges that need to be addressed to unlock its full potential. The current limitations in game development tools, analytics, and discovery are significant roadblocks for creators. While Epic has laid out a transparent roadmap for 2024 to tackle these issues, the effectiveness of these solutions remains to be seen. Overcoming these obstacles will be crucial for sustaining the momentum and accelerating the growth of the UEFN ecosystem, ultimately transforming it into a cornerstone of the gaming metaverse.