Disney and Fortnite have had quite the successful partnership over the past two years, but now it’s about to enter a brand new phase, and that is changing the landscape of Star Wars games in a major way. While you’ve been able to purchase Star Wars skins in Fortnite and even speak to an AI-powered Darth Vader, the time has arrived for that partnership to get a massive upgrade, and it will greatly expand what is possible in a Star Wars game.
Last year, Epic Games revealed that Fortnite would be adding the ability for creatures to make custom Star Wars-themed games and worlds through the use of the Unreal Editor (UEFN), and now that day is finally here. The Star Wars tools are now live, allowing Fortnite developers to create Star Wars-inspired islands. To do that, you’ll have access to Star Wars templates, characters, locations, vehicles, and weapons, including lightsabers, and you’ll be able to publish these islands on May 1st.
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Create Your Own Dream Star Wars Experience
While playing a Star Wars game is great, creating your own Star Wars game could be even better, and now Fortnite and Disney are allowing you to do just that. You’ll be able to mix and match a host of Star Wars items and characters from previous Fortnite seasons to craft your very own dream experience, and it all starts with the island’s core theme.
There are four islands to choose from when starting your island, including a star-crossed space setting, the freezing tundra of Hoth, the expansive desert of Tatooine, and the lava pits of Navarro. There will also be two flat grid islands available for Fortnite Creative.
You can then bring each of these locations to life with visual effects to create epic moments and battle sequences, and background elements like the Death Star, Tatooine Cantina, Star Destroyer, Holochess Table, Sandcrawlers, and more help make those scenes even more dynamic.
You’ll then be able to customize your lightsabers and Force Powers, utilizing powers like push, mind trick, and heal. You can then bring in iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, The Mandalorian, and Boba Fett, and that’s on top of adding Stormtroopers, Jawas, and even rideable Tauntauns. If you want to jump in a vehicle, you absolutely can by bringing in X-Wings and TIE Fighters, as well as AATs and N-1 Starfighters. There are also over 25 iconic Star Wars weapons to use, as well as a host of licensed Star Wars music to set your adventure soundtrack.
Epic also revealed that between now and May 1st, there will also be first-person support for weapons and custom items and inventories to utilize for creators. The one catch is that if you want to publish an island that uses Star Wars assets, you will need to share 20% of your engagement payout with Disney.
It will be interesting to see Fortnite creators dive into the Star Wars toolkit and start building out new experiences in that world, and if it takes off, it could make Fortnite the new destination for Star Wars-centric experiences between major franchise releases, especially if Epic keeps adding new features to the creative toolset. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but the toolset is promising, and we could be in for some truly cool Star Wars experiences as a result.
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