Alex Seropian, one of the co-founders and former CEO of Bungie, has teamed up with other game industry veterans to form Look North World, an indie studio whose focus is to develop games exclusively for Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN). Also known as Creative 2.0, UEFN launched in March 2023 and allows anybody to use Unreal Engine 5’s robust toolset to build entire games within Fortnite and share them with others.
Almost immediately, creative minds began releasing a huge variety of maps and games for other players to check out, and one of the first was a recreation of the original Fortnite map with all of the iconic locations and even the OG loot pool. What’s more, Epic Games announced that creators would be given 40% of the revenue earned from their UEFN contributions, meaning the most popular maps and games could earn their developers a significant chunk of change.
These potential earnings present a great incentive for creators of all backgrounds, including game industry veterans with decades of experience. Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian; Patrick Moran, formerly of Amazon and Disney; and other developers with AAA titles under their belts have formed Look North World, which will create games exclusively using UEFN. The appeal, according to the studio, is that it will be able to release new games every two to three months, while constantly receiving feedback from the player base. “Developing in UEFN opens a whole new world of opportunities,” said Seropian, “and we are in uncharted territory.”
Look North World has already released its first game on UEFN, Outlaw Corral, which is intended to train Fortnite players for the pivotal 1v1 confrontations that come at the end of the battle royale. Set in the Wild West, Outlaw Corral pits players against one another in a 16-bracket tournament, with each round lasting about 5 to 10 minutes. This will allow players to frequently test and hone their skills so that they’re prepared when it’s time to be the last man standing in Fortnite’s endgame.
Look North World intends to release games at a frequent pace when compared to regular development cycles, and the studio already has several other projects in the works, including an unannounced title called Project “Murcielago.” For all of its releases, the company will rely on community feedback, and the first 1,000 people who join the Look North World Discord will be able to beta test new games before they come out. Seropian clarified, “Through experimentation we will see what the players like and involve them in decisions. We are jumping into it with a 'the virtual sky is the limit' mentality.”
If Look North World’s business model proves successful, it likely won’t be the only professional game studio to jump into the world of UEFN development. But there will still be plenty of room for creators of all experience levels to achieve monetary success, as long as they provide a unique and fun experience. Inevitably, when it first launched, much of the content made using Creative 2.0 was copyrighted, with people building Mario Kart tracks and even Call of Duty maps, which resulted in Activision issuing DMCA claims. But it will be the standout, imaginative creations that have the potential to be real money-earners.
Fortnite is currently available on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
