The origins of Fortnite may be shrouded in controversy – and discussed enough within these pages and elsewhere that we needn’t rake over them again – but since the game’s transformation into a battle royale in September 2017, Epic has barely put a foot wrong. Six years on, it’s the biggest videogame in the world: as much a social hangout spot and occasional concert venue as a competitive shooter, and now a creative platform in its own right. With March’s announcement of Unreal Editor For Fortnite, Epic extended its hand to professional game developers, offering them an expanded version of the main game’s Creative toolset and an opportunity to reach a potential audience of 500 million players, with the ultimate aim of eventually hosting full-fledged triple-A games. With UEFN still in beta, it’s far too early for anything of that scope. But just as players migrated from PUBG after that game-changing pivot, professional developers are now flocking to Fortnite.
We begin in the Wild West, with Look North World’s Outlaw Corral (Island code: 0985-8384), a Westernthemed tournament composed of one-onone shootouts, designed primarily as a way to train players for the battle-royale endgame. Eyebrows were raised when the newly minted studio announced it would be working with UEFN – not least given its development pedigree, which includes Bungie founder Alex Seropian as CEO. It came as a surprise, too, to learn that Outlaw Corral was merely one of four games in development. But perhaps the most startling detail had been omitted: Outlaw Corral was already out.
