Epic Games, the renowned gaming company behind Fortnite, recently unveiled its Unreal Engine 5.4 Preview 1 at the State of Unreal event. This annual event, held at the Game Developers Conference, showcased a range of exciting announcements and collaborations within the gaming industry.
One of the highlights of the event was the introduction of Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) and Creator Economy 2.0. This feature allows creators to publish their own professional and user-generated content within the Fortnite universe. Since its launch a year ago, creators have published over 80,000 UEFN islands, with more than 130 million people having played on those islands. Epic Games has paid out over $320 million to creators in the first year alone, demonstrating the success and popularity of this new feature.
In addition to the UEFN announcement, Epic Games also revealed its collaboration with Skydance to create Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. This game trailer showcased visually stunning imagery and realistic human face animations, creating an immersive cinematic experience for players. Amy Hennig, of Skydance, expressed her excitement about the game’s graphics and how they make players feel like they are in a movie.
Furthermore, Epic Games announced its partnership with Lego Group to bring Lego elements into Fortnite Creative. This collaboration allows creators to incorporate iconic Lego elements into their projects, expanding the creative possibilities within Fortnite.
The event also highlighted some notable updates to the Unreal Engine. The introduction of Motion Matching, a feature utilized in Fortnite since its Chapter 5 launch, brings a more efficient method for character animation. This feature allows for fluid and responsive animation without the need for manual state transitions. Kim Libreri, CTO of Epic Games, emphasized that this tool enables creators to achieve triple-A quality animation in their games.
Other updates to the Unreal Engine include enhancements to Nanite, such as Nanite Tessellation, which allows for higher visual fidelity without increasing mesh size on disk. The introduction of Multi-Process Cooking promises faster cooking times, and a new Audio Insights profiling tool empowers sound designers with next-gen audio capabilities.
The integration of MetaHuman was another significant announcement at the event. MetaHuman Creator and MetaHuman Animator now allow creators to easily create and animate high-fidelity NPCs within Fortnite islands. This revolutionary tool enables the production of realistic digital humans that are fully rigged and ready to use in Unreal Engine in a matter of minutes.
Looking ahead, Epic Games has revealed its roadmap for Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN), which includes exciting enhancements such as a first-person camera, simplified item building, and a new Scene Graph system optimized for dynamic manipulation of game objects. These updates aim to empower creators with advanced tools and features, paving the way for immersive experiences within the Fortnite metaverse.
The State of Unreal event also featured presentations from leading developers, including Funcom, Natural Motion Games, and Chrono Studio. These presentations showcased the diverse applications of Unreal Engine technology in crafting immersive gaming experiences, from open-world survival games to arena-based multiplayer titles.
Epic Games also shared its plans to bring the Epic Games Store (EGS) to mobile devices later this year. The EGS will become the first-ever game-focused, multi-platform store, working across Android, iOS, PC, and macOS. This move will benefit mobile developers by offering fair revenue share terms and programs for in-app purchases.
In conclusion, the State of Unreal event brought forth exciting announcements and collaborations within the gaming industry. With the introduction of Unreal Engine 5.4 Preview 1 and innovative features such as UEFN, Motion Matching, and MetaHuman, Epic Games continues to push the boundaries of game development. Creators now have more tools and opportunities to unleash their creativity and deliver immersive experiences to players within the Fortnite universe and beyond.