Epic Games recently released its first Fortnite ecosystem year in review for 2024, showcasing significant achievements and milestones.
The report revealed that Fortnite UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) distributed a total of $324 million to creators in 2024. The creator community within the ecosystem nearly tripled to 70,000 individuals, who collectively published over 198,000 islands (games/experiences).
These islands experienced substantial traffic, with an average of nearly 60,000 islands being played per day. Moreover, more than 70% of players engaged with both creator-made games and Epic-made games such as Battle Royale.
In 2024, there was an overall increase in player engagement with creator-made games. Daily active players saw a 15% rise, while total hours played increased by 5%. Additionally, there was notable growth in non-combat game genres.
More details
Creator counts by payout for UEFN.
The creator community saw remarkable growth, with the number of creators almost tripling from 24,000 in 2023 to 70,000 in 2024. The volume of published islands also doubled, reaching a total of 198,000 in 2024, including 137,000 islands developed in UEFN.
Despite fluctuations in engagement due to seasonality, player interaction with creator islands increased significantly on a daily, monthly, and annual basis. Daily player numbers surged by 15% in 2024.
Epic expressed its excitement at witnessing more creators thrive within the Fortnite ecosystem. A total of $352 million was disbursed to creators in 2024, marking an 11% increase when comparing the March-December periods of 2023 and 2024.
Players spent a total of 5.23 billion hours playing games created by creators in 2024, representing 36.5% of the total Fortnite playtime and showing a 5% growth from the previous year’s 4.98 billion hours.
This growth was fueled by an increase in non-combat game genres such as social roleplay, party games, deathruns, and horror experiences. In January 2025, these genres accounted for over 30% of time spent in creator-made content, reflecting a nearly 50% increase from the same period in the previous year.
New features and devices
In 2024, Epic expanded the capabilities of UEFN for creators by introducing new features such as the First Person Camera device, enhanced UI tools, HUD controls, Input Triggers, Proximity chat, Persistence, Custom NPCs, and numerous other impactful tools.
Within the Creator Portal, Epic implemented enhancements to help creators better understand their audience through improved analytics, metrics on payouts, player base insights, and the introduction of island satisfaction data. Additionally, Creator Profiles were launched to facilitate the discovery of relevant islands and the ability to favorite creators within Fortnite.
In 2024, popular IPs like The LEGO Group, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Fall Guys assets and gameplay devices were integrated into UEFN and Fortnite Creative, allowing creators to develop unique games and experiences using established intellectual properties through a simplified agreement process.
Highlighted islands in 2024 included the ARPG Fort Knight Legend by Love-is-Real, which pushed the boundaries of Verse UI, Verse Persistence, and RPG elements to deliver an immersive experience.
Another standout creation was Havoc Hotel 2 [Roguelike] by TeraCreators, setting a new standard for roguelike PVE in Fortnite by blending Custom UI, RPG elements, and retention mechanics.
Lumberjack Heroes by ItsJacky showcased the power of UEFN with its custom UI and engaging gameplay loop, inspiring other creators to explore Tycoon-style content further.
Pizza Shop Tycoon Boss Fight Update! by TomJank utilized TMNT templates and devices to create an authentic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles experience, engaging players with exciting gameplay.
Finally, The Kraken: Bossfight by Gauntlet was a polished RPG that captivated the community with engaging quests, exploration, dungeons, and an advanced boss fight, setting a new standard for immersive gameplay.
Looking Ahead
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Looking ahead to 2025, Epic aims to unlock new possibilities for creators by moving Scene Graph into beta testing, introducing custom items, and launching additional tools to facilitate the creation of deeper and more complex games in new and popular genres using UEFN.
The company recognizes the need for improvements in UEFN and the creator experience. It is dedicated to enhancing stability, reducing interaction times during development, providing creators with insights and tools to grow their player base post-launch, and optimizing the Discover feature to showcase the wide array of available games to players.
In the coming weeks, Epic will update the public Fortnite creator roadmap to outline upcoming features and updates for creators throughout the year. Detailed discussions on the roadmap and other topics will take place at Unreal Fest in Orlando from June 2 to June 5.
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FAQs
Q: What was the total amount paid out to creators in 2024?
A: Epic Games distributed a total of $352 million to creators in 2024, marking an 11% increase
Credit: venturebeat.com
