The upcoming new creator economy in Fortnite comes with a major cost

The way Fortnite artists are compensated is changing thanks to Epic Games, and this may completely alter the game’s economy.
Now that Fortnite has become popular, 40% of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in earnings Epic makes from the game are up for grabs.
This past week, Epic unveiled “Creator Economy 2.0.”
In accordance with the new arrangement, Epic will provide island developers a monthly payment equal to 40% of Fortnite’s net earnings, depending on how frequently players interact with their islands.
This implies that 40% of the revenue generated by Epic from sources like V-Bucks, its Fortnite Crew membership, and in-game costumes (such as those for crossover characters like MrBeast from YouTube and Resident Evil characters) all goes into the pool.
During last week’s State of Unreal conference, Saxs Persson, Epic’s EVP of the Fortnite ecosystem, said that the game presently brings in “billions of dollars a year in income from player purchases.”
So, there is at least $400 million per year up for grabs, even if we suppose that only results in $1 billion in net sales annually.
Epic’s own in-game islands, including its popular Battle Royale mode, are also eligible for rewards from the income pool, but there is one major hitch.
The money that Epic puts on the table is quickly taken back in large quantities.
What percentage of the market do artists truly receive?
Persson said at the State of Unreal that other developers’ islands make up “approximately 40% of playtime in Fortnite,” indicating that Epic retains 60% of both the income and the pool from Fortnite.
But, as payments will be dependent on interaction, artists may receive even less than 40% of the 40% pool.
Instead of calculating rewards based only on gameplay, Epic will take into account whether an island attracts new players (or lapsed ones) as well as how frequently players return.
Such criteria, in my opinion, continue to favor Epic’s own islands to a great extent.
Epic’s fantastic battle passes, which provide items like new clothes and V-bucks to spend in the game’s store if you earn enough experience by completing tasks, are what kept me going back to Fortnite almost every day.
I have little motivation to venture outside of Epic’s islands, as the bulk of those missions is only available there.
Although you may gain experience by playing creator-made islands, these islands often don’t provide as much experience as some of Epic’s custom tasks.
Because Epic’s explanation of the criteria is ultimately somewhat nebulous, how it selects such rewards may likewise be debatable.
(The firm also has the right to block islands it considers unsuitable, such as recreations of some earlier Fortnite islands and Mario Kart ripoffs.)
Persson tells me in an interview that the firm will be receptive to criticism about how it makes payouts—”our duty is to listen to that”—but it purposely isn’t releasing exactly how it analyzes the metrics because it doesn’t want to unintentionally promote the wrong sorts of incentives.
I also inquired as to how Epic may broaden the battle passes in order to more effectively include non-Epic events and support independent developers.
(The corporation already does this on occasion, but under the new system, which pays authors based on player interaction, keeping the battle pass epic-focused may be unfairly advantageous.)
Although Persson could not provide a timeframe for when this would occur, he did note that he expected the battle passes to alter in order to better include content from outside creators: “I think it’s a vital question to get a better balance than what the battle plan is doing today.”
When you visited creators’ islands or bought their goods at the Fortnite store, they received no money under the old “Support-A-Creator” scheme.
You had to be aware of each author’s unique “creator code,” know precisely where to enter it before making a purchase from the shop, and then really carry it out if you wanted to make sure they received any money.
Even then, just 5% of your purchase would go to the inventor.
Because of this, many Fortnite creative studios have been forced to significantly rely on marketing partnerships in order to make money, creating virtual worlds essentially for the sole purpose of promoting companies like Verizon, Chipotle, or Balenciaga.
According to R-Leeo Maoate, co-owner, CEO, and creative director of Zen Creative, “The Support-A-Creator system was focused around content creators and those audiences, and it wasn’t really meant for creative developers.”
“I believe [Creative Economy 2.0] will be a lot better method for creators like us to monetize, make a livelihood, and motivate us to create greater experiences,” the creator said.
Similar suggestions from other Fortnite producers I spoke with indicated that this would result in more beneficial islands for players.
Boomer Gurney, creative director for game development for Team PWR, says, “To now have a system that you can directly influence by making a really great game, or if you have a game that players are spending hours in or coming back to every day—to be rewarded for that by Epic and see that return monetarily is a big deal for us.”
(But, like with the Support-A-Creator program, creators must have received at least $100 in rewards during a calendar year in order to really cash out.)
Although these other organizations will now compete with Epic for the income pot, Gurney writes in an email that “in some ways, we’ve always been competing with Epic’s islands.”
We’re thrilled to finally have a revenue structure that directly supports these data points as a company that has always stressed player engagement and the duration of experiences.
Additionally, they now have access to the new Unreal Editor for Fortnite, which adds a ton more features and enables developers to import customized graphics assets. Previously, creators could only build islands using Epic’s in-game Fortnite tools, but this change puts them on a level playing field when it comes to development.
Epic appears to be hoping that the change will result in new kinds of experiences that don’t focus largely on dramatic shootouts and intricate architecture.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, tells my colleague Andrew Webster that “we want to develop by encouraging creators, bringing in other gaming genres, and adding new ways to participate that go beyond the battle royale experience.”
It may result in Fortnite gaining more users than it already does.
The incentives suggest that we may see something like Roblox’s wildly successful Adopt Me! life simulator: if it attracts new players who remain around, its designers will be compensated.
Teams like Team PWR and Zen Creative may now focus more of their work on games since they will generate money by keeping people engaged rather than creating advertisements for businesses.
“We truly came from not much,” Weber tells me. “These last six months, you couldn’t really make a living unless you were in the top one percent of creators.”
I’m really just relieved to see things going in any direction.
March 28th, 12:24 PM ET, Update:
replaced references to Creative mode with wording regarding creator-made islands and changed a few phrases to underline that Epic is paying out based on participation regardless of the island.