UEFN: Fortnite as a Platform

In March 2023 Fortnite announced the next iteration of Fortnite Creative, UEFN, a tool that empowers game developers and designers to build custom games and worlds inside Fortnite. UEFN stands for Unreal Editor in Fortnite, combining parts of the Unreal Engine with the prebuilt gameplay devices from Fortnite Creative. Additionally, the Verse programming language was designed to be used for adding custom game logic into UEFN.

In 2011, I purchased Minecraft so that I could play on a community-made server Lord of the Craft. A role-playing game based on Lord of the Rings. Minecraft's popularity came in large part due to the community and player's ability to shape their own experiences inside the sandbox game. I rarely played the base game, and almost exclusively played community-created modifications when I was a kid. I eventually learned Java and used the Spigot API to create plugins and alter the game myself. Today Minecraft remains one of the most popular games out there, not because of its survival mode and consistent updates (something Mojang is consistently made fun of for). It's remained popular due to its community and the millions of developers who have created content inside of the block-based game.

Minecraft Modders Created the Battle Royal Format

Fortnite quickly became the most popular Battle Royal video game after it launched, however, the battle royale format originated in Minecraft servers. Players created servers inspired by the Hunger Games books and movies, you were dropped into a Minecraft world and the last player alive would win. Fortnite itself may never have existed if it wasn't for the modding community in Minecraft.

UEFN allows developers to build unique games of their own inside Fortnite. Creative mode allows players to make their maps and mini-games in Fortnite but is limited to what you can control in the game. UEFN extends this functionality allowing players to take advantage of features from the Unreal Engine and the power of Verse as a scripting language. I've always believed that supporting and uplifting your modding community is one of the best ways to keep your game relevant for a long time.

To encourage more developers to build within Fortnite, Epic Games announced a new way to reward creators; vowing to share 40% of their item show revenue with developers. A team of some of the most popular Fortnite streamers including SypherPK and Ninja among others has already announced plans to build a battle royal of their own, creating jobs for Programmers, Artists, and more.

The Fortnite Discover tab filled with games developed by the community

From Building Games to Building Platforms

Rather than competing for players, games should compete for content creators such as streamers, programmers, and artists, who use their games as a medium. Streamers, in particular, can attract people to the game and foster communities within it. Developers and artists craft experiences that increase interest in your game. Fortnite's community is known for being primarily young men, but with UEFN and a much more diverse set of game modes, they can increase the demographic of players all across the world. Fortnite's consistent updates and big events play a big role in Fortnite's massive popularity. Constantly adding new features and modifying the game, means they had to develop powerful tools to give them that customization option. The game's next chapter will be shaped by the creative contributions of its players and community. The best tech companies monetize their platforms just as much as their product, AWS makes Amazon more than an e-commerce website. For Epic to continue to grow, it must shift toward being a game platform and a game engine.

Conclusion

Having spent the past few weeks learning how to use the UEFN and write code in Verse, there's still a lot to be desired. The product is in beta and will be for a while, these things take time. But Epic is showing a strong commitment to giving the players the power to make Fortnite-based games. I plan to continue and work on my skills in Verse/UEFN and hopefully begin publishing some games for people to play. If you're interested in the Verse programming language and using UEFN I highly recommend watching this video from GDC 2023. It gives a high-level overview of Epics’s plans and how the language works.