Epic Games has launched a brand-new and ambitious-sounding feature for Fortnite, and it’s the ability for anyone to make Star Wars-inspired islands using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN).
This is part of Disney’s $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games, and, in short, what this means is Fortnite players with creativity and passion can make their own Star Wars games and worlds within Fortnite. Given how dedicated the Fortnite community is, it’s expected the debut of the new UEFN tools for Star Wars will lead to some impressive creations. It sounds exciting, but there are also some key things to know about rights-usage and other limitations.
Enterprising creators can begin making their Star Wars worlds now, while they will be able to publish them to Fortnite’s Creator Portal on May 1, just ahead of the May the 4th Star Wars holiday. Epic also announced a Star Wars Game Collection page in the Discover portal of Fortnite, and Epic will highlight some of the best ones via its Epic’s Picks program.
Right now, there are four Star Wars UEFN “starter” islands, including locations inspired by space, Hoth, Tatooine, and Nevarro. There are numerous licensed assets that players can utilize, including the Death Star, Tatooine Cantina, and the Resistance Base. A variety of props are available, too, including the Holochess Table, Sabacc Table, and Sandcrawlers.
The update also adds customizable Lightsabers, and the ability to add specific Force powers, including Push, Heal, and Mind Trick. The tools also allow players to make use of NPCs and a new “Conversation” functionality for people who want to build story-based Star Wars games.
Iconic Star Wars characters are featured in the toolset, too, including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, The Mandalorian, and Princess Leia. Stormtroopers, Jawas, and rideable Tauntans are included as well, as are vehicles like N-1 Starfighters, X-Wings, TIE Fighters, and AATs.
Star Wars weapons are available as well, including Lightsabers specific to Luke, Rey, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader, as well as Turbolasers and DF.9 Turrets. Chewbacca’s Wookie Bowcaster is available as well, as are various Blasters.
The update also includes licensed Star Wars music. The available tracks include some of the most iconic ones, including the memorable John Williams main theme, as well as “The Imperial March” and “The Cantina Theme,” among others.
All of this content, and more, is available now, but first-person support for ranged weapons is coming at some point between now and May 1, Epic said.
You can visit Epic’s website to see detailed tutorials on building Star Wars islands.
The fine print
As one might expect, there are a number of rules that fans must follow to utilize the Star Wars assets. For example, players are forbidden from creating Star Wars islands in Fortnite that “preach about” topics like politics or religion. Players are forbidden from creating assets with “religious imagery” or anything with symbols that replicate a real-world social, political, or military group. Epic is also forbidding people from using the Star Wars assets to “support or make a statement” about social, political, or religious causes like supporting a political candidate or campaigning against war.
Players are also forbidden from using the Star Wars assets in Fortnite in an “obscene, violent, or discriminatory manner.”
Players also cannot name their creations after trademarked materials. Epic listed off some of the restricted trademarks, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Zero Company
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Star Wars: Hunters
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Star Wars Eclipse
- Star Wars: Squadrons
- Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer
- Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic
Epic also made it clear that whatever you make with the UEFN tools is not yours. “Disney owns all rights in its characters, visual assets, settings, stories, content, and other Disney IP,” the disclaimer said. Disney is granting users a “limited, revocable, non-transferable, and non-exclusive” license for this project. The fine print also states that using these Star Wars assets does not grant any ownership rights, and people cannot make money on their creations, at least not directly.
Another line from the disclaimer says in-island transactions are disabled for the Star Wars partnership with UEFN. This is one of the ways that Fortnite creators make money, but it seemingly won’t be possible with the Star Wars campaign.
Disney x Fortnite
This is part of Disney’s ongoing partnership with Epic and Fortnite. When Disney announced its partnership with Epic for a Fortnite project, Disney said it would be a “new persistent universe” for Disney fans to “play, watch, shop, and engage with” characters and content from its Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar brands, among others.
Beyond the new UEFN partnership, Epic is building some kind of Disney-themed Fortnite world. Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, said recently that he reviewed the progress being made on the project and he was “blown away by the possibilities.”
D’Amaro also recently said Disney could premiere movies in Fortnite, or allow people to book a Disney cruise from within the game.
The executive has been a longtime advocate for gaming inside Disney. Beyond the Fortnite project, Disney does a lot in gaming by way of its licensing deals for its franchises, including the numerous Star Wars games in development. Experts believe gaming could be a key area for Disney to grow under D’Amaro’s leadership. And to that end, it was reported that Disney was planning to make further gaming deals, but those plans were disrupted by the search for a new CEO. Now that D’Amaro is officially the new boss, things could get back on track.
