After months of delays, Unreal Editor for Fortnite has gone live, giving PC players access to the power of Unreal Engine 5, and turning Fortnite Creative as we know it on its head.
Fortnite UEFN was announced last May for PC, and was set to release before the year was out. But game development being what it is, the feature was delayed to January 2023 and pushed back again to a March 2023 window. But the good news is that the Unreal Editor is live for PC players at last, following the State of Unreal live stream where it was properly unveiled.
UEFN appears to be synonymous with Fortnite Creative 2.0 for now – at least on PC. The tools PC players have access to aren't going to be available on console, although there will be an improved toolset launching for the platforms in around six months. And while UEFN is in public beta, for all intents and purposes, it's launched and you can start having your fun right now.
The official blog post explains that UEFN is a new PC app players can use to design, develop, and publish games and experiences directly into Fortnite. Epic is aiming to make most of the suite of Unreal Engine 5 tools available in UEFN eventually, but there's still plenty to work with in the public beta. You can always check out the three tech demo maps – Deserted: Domination, Forest Guardian, and The Space Inside – for inspiration.
How to get Unreal Editor for Fortnite
While Unreal Editor for Fortnite is PC exclusive, you can use the tools to make games and experiences for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, mobile devices, PC, and Mac. UEFN works alongside the existing Fortnite Creative tools and players can collaborate to develop and test islands in real-time across PC and console.
Fortnite UEFN isn't an automatic update on PC – you need to download it from the Epic Games Store or Epic Games Launcher. It may say 'add to cart' but it's free and doesn't cost you anything. Here's everything you can do with UEFN:
- Create custom content with Modeling and Material tools.
- Import meshes, textures, animations, and audio.
- Use Niagara to create VFX effects.
- Animate with Control Rig and Sequencer.
- Design gameplay with Verse.
- Build Landscapes to create the environment.
- Create larger experiences with World Partition.
- Use Fab (Alpha) to discover and import assets.
- Use Live Edit to collaborate in real-time with others.
- Integrate collaboration with Unreal Revision Control.
UEFN will continue to evolve throughout the beta so expect more functionality to come!
