Key Highlights:
- Unreal Editor for Fortnite launched in public beta on March 22, 2023, expanding what creators can build inside Fortnite.
- These seven early Creative 2.0 maps range from RPGs and team combat to Chapter 1 recreations and Epic tech demos.
- Every entry includes its island code so you can search for the experience directly in Fortnite.
Quick Links:
Unreal Editor for Fortnite has opened the door to much more ambitious Creative experiences, and several Creative 2.0 maps already show what creators can build with UEFN.
Epic launched Unreal Editor for Fortnite in public beta on March 22, 2023. UEFN works alongside the existing Fortnite Creative toolset while adding access to custom assets, more advanced development tools and experiences that can look very different from traditional Fortnite islands.
The first wave already includes crafting RPGs, team-based shooters, custom combat systems, a recreation of the original Chapter 1 island and several technical showcases from Epic Games.
These seven Fortnite Creative 2.0 maps are some of the early UEFN experiences worth trying.
Update: UEFN islands did not initially award Battle Pass XP when this article was published. Epic added time-based XP to UEFN experiences on April 21, 2023.
Pirate Adventure by 3D Lab
Island code: 2810-0903-5967
Pirate Adventure is a crafting RPG where you play as a pirate stranded on an island and begin building a settlement.
The experience includes quests, treasure hunting, resource gathering and interactions with skeleton characters. Rather than concentrating on Fortnite gunfights, it demonstrates how UEFN can support slower progression-based experiences with their own setting and gameplay loop.
At launch, persistent saving was not available, so progress could not be carried between sessions in the way you might expect from a conventional RPG.
Deserted: Domination by Epic Labs
Island code: 8035-1519-2959
Deserted: Domination is an 8v8 team mode built around capturing and controlling zones inside an abandoned oil refinery.
Players earn points through objective control and eliminations while competing across a much grittier environment than Fortnite Battle Royale normally uses.
The visual style is one of the most interesting parts of the map. UEFN allows Deserted: Domination to use lighting, textures and environmental design that make it look noticeably different from a standard Creative island.
Atlas OG Battle Royale by Atlas Creative
Island code: 2179-7822-3395
Atlas OG Battle Royale recreates Fortnite’s original Chapter 1 island and allows players to return to familiar locations from the early Battle Royale era.
Epic specifically amended its creator rules after UEFN launched to allow creators to publish recreations of Fortnite Chapter 1 maps, although those islands were not eligible for engagement payouts.
The recreation was still in beta when I played it and could be inconsistent. I managed to finish only two matches from more than a dozen attempts, so the technical problems were noticeable.
Atlas Creative also removed later movement mechanics such as sprinting and sliding to make the experience closer to early Fortnite.
As someone who had already moved over to Zero Build by this point, returning to old-school building and movement took some adjustment. Even with the early bugs, revisiting the Chapter 1 island is the main reason to try this map.
Reclamation by Team Alliance
Island code: 1135-0371-8937
Reclamation is an 8v8 team experience based around controlling an objective that changes position during the match.
The structure shares some similarities with Deserted: Domination, but Reclamation uses a moss-covered ruined environment and concentrates the teams around shifting control points rather than three fixed capture zones.
It is another useful early example of UEFN being used to create a traditional multiplayer mode within Fortnite rather than recreating Battle Royale.
Ninja Battles 5v5 by BrendannnD
Island code: 5227-8658-2604
Ninja Battles 5v5 combines point-control combat with custom abilities and weapons built specifically for the experience.
Players select different elemental ninja types and can use abilities including a spin attack and elemental projectile rather than relying entirely on Fortnite’s standard weapon pool.
The custom combat system could feel rough around the edges during these early UEFN builds, but that is also what makes Ninja Battles interesting. It demonstrates how Creative 2.0 creators can build mechanics that go beyond rearranging existing Fortnite weapons and devices.
Forest Guardian by Epic Labs
Island code: 0348-4438-3263
Forest Guardian is one of Epic’s original UEFN technical showcases and focuses primarily on visuals rather than providing a long-form game mode.
The short experience takes players through a detailed forest environment and was created to demonstrate the lighting, custom assets and visual fidelity possible with Unreal Editor for Fortnite.
Epic highlighted Forest Guardian alongside Deserted: Domination and The Space Inside when UEFN launched.
The Space Inside by Epic Labs
Island code: 9836-7381-5978
The Space Inside is a single-player escape-room experience created by Epic Games in collaboration with Heavy Iron Studios and High Voltage Software.
Players move through a series of unusual rooms and environments while solving their way further into the experience.
Like Forest Guardian, The Space Inside was designed partly to demonstrate how far UEFN experiences can move away from the traditional Fortnite Battle Royale aesthetic.
Creative 2.0 was only days old when these maps appeared, but they already demonstrated several different uses for Unreal Editor for Fortnite, including custom combat, RPG systems, classic Battle Royale recreations and visually ambitious single-player experiences.
That scope expanded quickly. A month later, Ninja, SypherPK and several other creators announced Project V, a battle royale being developed with UEFN, showing how some teams were already planning projects significantly larger than traditional Creative maps.
