Epic Games unveiled its inaugural Fortnite ecosystem annual report for 2024, and there’s plenty to applaud.
Epic announced that Fortnite UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) distributed $324 million to creators in 2024. The roster of creators in the ecosystem nearly surged to 70,000, and they launched over 198,000 islands (games/experiences).
These islands are attracting players as well, with almost 60,000 islands enjoyed daily on average. Furthermore, over 70% of participants engage with both creator-developed games and Epic-crafted games such as Battle Royale.
Average participants in creator-developed games saw an annual increase across the board in 2024, with daily active users rising by 15%; total hours played escalating by 5%. Notably, there was substantial growth observed in non-combat game categories.
Additional Insights
The creator community is flourishing at a remarkable rate, with the number of contributors nearly tripling from 24,000 in 2023 to 70,000 in 2024. The total islands launched also doubled to 198,000 in 2024, comprising 137,000 islands developed in UEFN.
Even though engagement fluctuates monthly due to seasonal trends, the average count of players interacting with creator islands daily, monthly, and annually has seen an uptick across the board this year, achieving a 15% increase in average daily participants for 2024.
Epic expressed that it has been motivating to witness an increasing number of creators thriving in the Fortnite ecosystem. A total of $352 million was allocated to creators in 2024, reflecting an 11% increase based on the March-December comparison between 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, players invested 5.23 billion hours in games crafted by creators—accounting for 36.5% of the overall Fortnite playtime and on an upward trajectory. This represents a 5% growth from the 4.98 billion hours logged in 2023.
These statistics are supported by noteworthy expansion in game genres that lack combat, including social roleplay, party games, deathruns, and horror experiences. As of January 2025, this diverse content has comprised more than 30% of the time spent in creator-generated experiences, marking a nearly 50% increase from the same period last year.
New Functionalities and Tools
In 2024, Epic enhanced the potential of what creators can construct with UEFN through the introduction of the First Person Camera device, along with new UI tools and HUD controls, Input Triggers, Proximity chat, Persistence, Custom NPCs, and numerous other significant features.
In the Creator Portal, Epic implemented new means to comprehend a creator’s audience, featuring enhancements to analytics and metrics regarding payouts, player demographics, and the introduction of island satisfaction data. Epic also launched Creator Profiles to facilitate players in discovering all relevant islands in a single location, and Favorite a Creator to aid in audience building within Fortnite.
Esteemed intellectual properties made their way to UEFN and Fortnite Creative in 2024, allowing the creation of innovative games and experiences utilizing official assets and gameplay elements from The LEGO Group, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Fall Guys. This initiative enables the development of authentic commercial games leveraging top-tier IP without the complexities of contracts or negotiations, facilitated through a single agreement.
This year, Epic’s showcased islands included the ARPG Fort Knight Legend by Love-is-Real, which pushed the boundaries of Verse UI, Verse Persistence, and RPG components to deliver a vast and exhilarating experience.
Additionally, Havoc Hotel 2 [Roguelike] by TeraCreators established the benchmark for roguelike PVE in Fortnite, merging Custom UI, RPG features, and retention mechanics to captivate players beyond roleplay and tycoon genres.
Lumberjack Heroes by ItsJacky demonstrated the potential of UEFN with its customized UI and engaging gameplay loop. The immersive nature of the island encouraged other creators to challenge the boundaries of Tycoon-style content.
Furthermore, Pizza Shop Tycoon Boss Fight Update! by TomJank utilized TMNT templates, prefabs, and devices to deliver an authentic and captivating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles experience.
Finally, Epic highlighted The Kraken: Bossfight by Gauntlet, a refined role-playing game (RPG) that captured the community’s attention. Featuring engaging quests, explorative elements, dungeons, and an advanced boss battle, it establishes a new benchmark for immersive gameplay.
Looking Forward
As Epic anticipates 2025, it aims to unlock further opportunities for creators. This includes initiating beta testing for Scene Graph, introducing custom items, and launching more tools to assist creators in developing deeper, more intricate games within UEFN across new and trending genres.
The company acknowledged that it has enhancements to implement for UEFN and the creator experience. It is dedicated to boosting stability, improving response times during development, equipping creators with insights and tools to maintain and grow a player base post-launch, and making Discover the optimal representation of the diverse array of games available to players.
Later this month, Epic will refresh the public Fortnite creator roadmap to inform creators of what additional features and updates they can anticipate throughout the year. The company will discuss the roadmap thoroughly, alongside in-depth conversations, at Unreal Fest in Orlando, scheduled from June 2 to June 5.
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