Fortnite's Unreal Engine 5 Editor Arrives Next Week

Content creators will finally be able to try their hands at the Unreal Engine 5 Editor for Fortnite starting next week. Epic Games already released Unreal Engine 5 to game developers last year, but now the company will be releasing the beta version of Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) to everyone on March 22, according to the DLC's page on its website.

The UEFN works a bit like the game editor in Roblox, only it's more advanced because, aside from Fortnite being 3D in the first place, it works in tandem with the pre-existing Fortnite Creative feature, providing teams of creators the ability to work together to create new games and experiences within Fortnite using all the tools at their disposal.

This includes the new programming language called Verse to design gameplay, Niagara to create visual effects, Control Rig and Sequencer to animate their custom characters, World Partition to create bigger gameplay experiences (like the virtual concerts we've been seeing as of late), and Fab to discover assets and import them.

Epic Games was originally expected to release the UEFN last year, but it quietly pushed back its debut date behind the scenes. At the time, CEO Tim Sweeney said the feature was designed to allow creators to monetize their custom content without having to make a deal with Epic Games, thereby turning Fortnite into a digital marketplace akin to Steam, Google Play Store, or the App Store.

According to Sweeney, players spend half their gameplay hours playing with other people's content, which is modded on PC anyhow. The UEFN only enhances creators' modding capabilities. Don't try downloading it onto Windows 7 or 8.

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 is available now. You can get a fresh new battle pass, a new map featuring a futuristic mega-city, and play as Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.