Fortnite is bringing creators deeper into the fold for its Chapter 7 launch.
As Fortnite progressed from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7 last week, astute gamers may have noticed an increased presence of Fortnite creators and developers amid the festivities. The Chapter 6 finale — a live event on November 29 — featured characters created by Fortnite creator studios Future Trash and Teravision Games. And when Chapter 7 rolled out on November 30, it did so alongside a spread of 10 new Fortnite islands built by creators using imagery and assets from Chapter 7.
“It was awesome to see the community’s reactions after catching cameos from developer-made IP appear in the Zero Hour event,” said Epic Games senior director of ecosystem growth Andre Balta in an emailed statement. “We’re always looking for new ways to celebrate developers and have them participate in big moments throughout the ecosystem.”
During typical chapter launches, Fortnite creators have not gained access to new chapter assets until weeks after the initial kick-off. This time around, Epic gave a select group of creators early access to Chapter 7’s visual assets — and then commissioned those creators use the assets to build new islands.
“We’d want to be doing stuff around the new chapter anyway, if we could, so it’s not quite the same as, let’s say a big brand came to us and was like, ‘we want you to make this a certain way,’” said Chad Mustard, the founder and chief operating officer of JOGO Studios, whose new game “Baja Party Royale” was commissioned by Epic Games and includes Chapter 7 assets like the Wonkeeland point of interest. “Epic was a lot more open.”
Epic Games’ decision to bring creators into Fortnite’s Chapter 7 launch is the latest example of the company’s ongoing push to transform Fortnite from a video game into a full-service creator platform.
Alongside or ahead of the Fortnite Chapter 7 launch, Epic Games also rolled out several changes to its Discover page. In recent months, the company has implemented a new banner at the top of the Discover page to promote select experiences, including the ones the company commissioned using Chapter 7 assets. Additionally, Fortnite’s Discover page now includes a dedicated tab to help players find new creations from the creators they follow.
Fortnite players can now easily follow and discover new creators without leaving the platform — much like the discovery tools on dedicated creator platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
“This is a huge promotion — this really drives a ton of traffic,” Mustard said in an interview with GamesBeat.
The majority of the revenue generated by Fortnite creator studios like JOGO comes through Fortnite’s engagement payout system, with more traffic and engagement leading to a higher revenue share. Mustard said that Fortnite’s faster asset sharing and updated discovery tools have resulted in increased revenue for JOGO, though he declined to share specific numbers.
Fortnite’s new Chapter 7 assets are now available to all creators on the platform, with Balta crediting the early testing phase for the chapter’s sped-up asset release timeline. In the near future, Epic plans to create additional island commission opportunities for Fortnite creators.
“We selected developers with the desire to have a range of genres represented in time for Fortnite for Chapter Seven, but we’re looking forward to holding more requests for proposals (for example, Spongebob) that are open to public submissions in the future,” he said.
By updating its Discover page and giving some creators advance access to Chapter 7 assets, Epic Games is signaling that the company is tapped into Fortnite creators’ current needs and desires — and that it views creators as central stakeholders in the platform’s ongoing evolution.
“Giving creator teams early access to new assets and commissioning them to build launch-day content is a big deal. It’s the kind of integration that shows how seriously they’re taking Fortnite as a platform for creators, and it brings a ton of value to players too,” said Fortnite creator and developer Matthew “Immature Gamer” Zanazzo. “They’ve done things before like XP and cosmetic rewards tied to creative maps, and those always drove a lot of interest. But this feels like a real step forward in how creators can be part of major moments in Fortnite.”