After a long wait and multiple delays, the Unreal Editor for Fortnite and Fortnite's Creative 2.0 are finally very real and in the wild. We're still in the extremely early days of this, of course, with most creators only just getting started with the new UEFN tools. But Epic did allow some creators access to the tools early, and it also put together a few Creative 2.0 tech demos of its own to show off what UEFN can do--so we've got a few maps that are ready for you to try out right this moment.
Again, though, we're still in the very early days of this. So you're not going to see anything too mindblowing just yet. Most of what we have for you today are simply much nicer, cleaner, and better versions of the kinds of things folks have been building in Creative mode for years: individual deathmatch maps, competitive Cookie Clicker-style games, and a fancy Color Switch map. With a much higher memory limit and the ability to include custom assets, these old modes feel new again.
But we've also got some peeks at the greater potential of Creative 2.0, like some 2D platformers, a rough recreation of the original Chapter 1 Battle Royale island, and a couple of demos from Epic that feature far better graphics than we've ever had in Fortnite before.
Unfortunately, nothing made in UEFN offers battle pass XP yet, but it's still worth it to see what Epic hopes is the next big step toward its metaverse vision. Below you'll find all the new UEFN maps we think are worth checking out for at least a few minutes. Frankly, there are already more than we expected, and that's a very good thing.
Atlas OG Battle Royale by AtlasCreative
Island code: 2179-7822-3395
Probably the most talked about new map is Atlas's attempt to recreate the Chapter 1 Battle Royale island as it existed when Battle Royale mode first launched in 2017. They couldn't really do a 1:1 recreation within the memory limits of Creative 2.0, and, frankly, that original island is so much worse than pretty much every iteration that we've had since then anyway. And also this recreation is super buggy and doesn't actually work most of the time--I've only been able to play two real rounds out of more than a dozen attempts.
That said, it's pretty amusing to be able to drop in on the old stomping grounds and see how far we've come since then--the team also removed modern quality-of-life features like sprinting and sliding. I just hope you're excited to get boxed up by some OG players who never moved off build mode. As somebody who moved to Zero Build a year ago and never looked back, that's how all my rounds on this map have ended.
Island code: 1415-7321-0392
Fortnite Creative folks love a game of Color Switch, where players stand on a grid of colored squares and the game tells them which color to stand on--if you're on the wrong color, you lose. But while this is a bog-standard Creative map from a gameplay perspective, this Katamari-esque giant playroom map is much cooler and more elaborate looking than anything they could have built in the past.
Pirate Adventure by 3D Lab
Island code: 2810-0903-5967
This chill little crafting RPG game is about a pirate (you) who crashes on a deserted island and has to build up a little town, visit other islands and do quests, hang out with skeleton people, find treasure, and do various other pirate-related things. It's surprisingly robust and impressively seamless--Pirate Adventure is a great example of how much more stable UEFN levels can be. Unfortunately, you can't save your progress yet, so it's best if you don't tool around with it too much until that feature is added--which the team said is in the works. But you should at least mess with it long enough to start exploring the other islands, which will only take a few minutes.
Gemstone Tycoon by Infinity.Studios
Island code 6265-7588-5080
This is a classic Creative mode: Get your Cookie Clicker-esque factory auto-mining resources while you fight with competing factory workers for special items. There's nothing special about this at all in terms of gameplay, but the presentation here is on a whole new level with the factory actually operating, with automated assembly line animations and everything, and it increases in speed and efficiency as you upgrade it. If you don't normally hang out in Creative maps then this little aesthetic bonus won't mean much to you, but I promise this is a very cool quality-of-life improvement.
Deserted: Domination by Epic
Island code: 8035-1519-2959
A simple deathmatch with control points and a comical 2007 grim-and-gritty filter giving the whole thing a very Call of Duty look, Deserted is a legitimately fun map for shooting folks on. And also hilarious because of how dramatically it departs from the normal Fortnite aesthetic--which is the point, of course.
Reclamation by TeamAlliance
Island code: 1135-0371-8937
This one features many of the same ideas as Deserted, but with only a single control point that periodically moves--and also a completely different aesthetic, with a more mossy ruins kind of vibe.
Ninja Battles 5v5 by BrendannnD
Island code: 5227-8658-2604
Ninja Battles is a simple melee-based control point mode, but what's really interesting about it is the way it has a sort of custom weapon system. You use the signal remotes to turn yourself into a whirlwind that has a special combat ability based on which ninja type you choose. It's a bit janky and unintuitive, but this is the only current UEFN map that even tries something like that--so it's worth taking a look at.
2D sidescroller proof-of-concepts maps
Pyramid Platformer Demo by spankysully: 0762-7326-5726
Droopy Flops by Infinity.Studios: 3638-6410-4991
There are two maps featuring arcade cabinets (and nothing else interactable) that will let you play some 2D sidescrollers that were made in UEFN. Neither of them--Pyramid Platformer is a standard 2.5D platformer, and Droopy Flops is a Flappy Bird clone--is actually much of a real game, but rather proof-of-concept creations that make us excited for the future.
Gorgeous tech demos
Forest Guardian: 0348-4438-3263
The Space Inside: 9836-7381-5978
Lastly, we've got these two tech demo walking simulator-type games with hyper-realistic graphics. Each is just a few minutes long and contains no meaningful gameplay, but they're both exciting looks at how great it'll be to wear our stupid skins in all the new types of experiences that UEFN will eventually bring us. These two demos make me feel a little better about all the money I've spent on this game.
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