Photo credit: venturebeat.com
Epic Games has unveiled its inaugural year-in-review report for the Fortnite ecosystem in 2024, celebrating significant milestones and achievements within the community.
According to Epic, creators utilizing Fortnite UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) received a staggering $324 million in payouts throughout 2024. The creator base expanded dramatically, nearly tripling from the previous year to reach 70,000 creators, who collectively published over 198,000 islands—diverse games and experiences built within the platform.
Player engagement with these islands has seen notable success, averaging nearly 60,000 islands played daily. Furthermore, more than 70% of players are enjoying content from both community creators and Epic Games, indicating a healthy interaction between the two.
Across the board, the statistics reflect rising player engagement in creator-made games, with a 15% increase in daily active users and a 5% increase in overall hours played. Notably, there has been considerable growth in non-combat gaming genres.
More Details
The creator community is thriving at an impressive rate, as demonstrated by the almost threefold increase in creators from 24,000 in 2023 to 70,000 in 2024. The total number of islands published doubled this year, including 137,000 islands developed specifically using UEFN.
While player engagement levels can fluctuate due to seasonal factors, there has been an overall increase in the average number of players participating in creator islands on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis, with a notable 15% growth observed in 2024.
Epic expressed enthusiasm at witnessing more creators flourish within the Fortnite ecosystem, citing a total payout of $352 million for creators in 2024, reflecting an 11% increase during the March to December comparison when assessing 2023 against 2024.
Players dedicated an impressive 5.23 billion hours to creator-made games, accounting for 36.5% of total Fortnite gameplay time, marking a 5% rise from the previous year’s figure of 4.98 billion hours. This growth is largely attributed to an increase in popular non-combat genres, including social roleplaying, party games, and horror experiences. By January 2025, these varied content types represented over 30% of playtime in creator-made experiences—a nearly 50% increase from the same period last year.
New Features and Devices
In 2024, Epic introduced significant enhancements to UEFN, which included the launch of a First Person Camera device, advanced UI tools and HUD controls, Input Triggers, Proximity Chat, and customizable NPCs, among other impactful features.
The Creator Portal has seen updates that provide creators with better insights into their audiences, including improved analytics and metrics regarding payouts and player bases, along with the introduction of island satisfaction data. Creator Profiles have also been launched, enabling players to easily find relevant islands and favorite creators, fostering community growth within Fortnite.
Moreover, 2024 witnessed the inclusion of popular intellectual properties (IPs) within UEFN, allowing creators to develop innovative games and experiences featuring assets from The LEGO Group, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Fall Guys. This initiative simplifies the creation of commercial games utilizing prestigious IPs through a streamlined agreement process.
This year, several standout islands were highlighted, including Fort Knight Legend by Love-is-Real, an action role-playing game (ARPG) that pushed the boundaries of UEFN’s capabilities. Havoc Hotel 2, created by TeraCreators, set a new standard for roguelike experiences in Fortnite, engaging players through innovative gameplay mechanics. Additionally, Lumberjack Heroes demonstrated the versatility of UEFN with its engaging game loop, while Pizza Shop Tycoon Boss Fight Update! by TomJank utilized TMNT assets to create an authentic experience. Lastly, The Kraken: Bossfight by Gauntlet captivated players with its rich RPG setting and immersive gameplay features.
Looking Ahead
As Epic Games anticipates 2025, it has plans to further empower creators by beta testing Scene Graph, developing custom items, and introducing additional tools to facilitate the creation of deeper and more intricate games across new genres.
The company recognizes the need for improvements within UEFN and the overall creator experience, committing itself to enhancing stability, reducing development interaction times, and providing creators with insights and assets to cultivate a strong player base post-launch. Furthermore, Epic aims to refine the Discover feature, ensuring it effectively showcases the extensive variety of games available to players.
In the upcoming weeks, Epic will update its public creator roadmap, offering insights into forthcoming features and updates throughout the year. A detailed discussion regarding this roadmap, along with additional collaborative opportunities, will take place at Unreal Fest in Orlando, scheduled from June 2 to June 5.
Source
venturebeat.com