Roblox and Fortnite are in a race to become the biggest game creation platforms in the world, and creators are doing everything they can to keep up. They’re creating innovative and original ideas, convincing major brands to invest in their virtual creations, and even coming together to build bigger and better experiences by forming studios. 

Just like YouTube and Twitch before them, these platforms are still figuring out how to operate and police the operation of the users in their platform. Like many industries in their infancy, it feels like the wild west within UGC game development. Many of the decisions Epic Games and Roblox make – whether deliberate or accidental – have a severe impact on each and every creator that’s committed to building within their spaces. 

That’s even more the case for those that have come together and raised funding to form studios. Building and running a studio in this environment is difficult as constant change makes predicting revenue and technical shifts on the platform near impossible. 

Discovery Dealing Damage

After overcoming the initial challenge of creating a map, the next roadblock that studios have to overcome is Discovery. Making the front page of discovery means your mode will sit next to icons like Rocket Racing, Lego Fortnite, and Fortnite’s main battle royale mode. Doing so can be quite the achievement for studios and creators alike. 

“Fly Guys has been front and center in discovery and the support from the community today has been amazing,” wrote creator 4ork in a post. A strategy for bringing players to your map is just as vital as the map itself. But, like everything else within Fortnite, Discovery faces a constant stream of adjustments that can sink a marketing plan faster than it can be implemented. 

Epic has reworked Discovery a number of times in ways that are helpful to creators– personalizing it to individual players and showcasing click through rates, for example–but the majority of featured maps still include the most popular trend maps. Map types like Red vs Blue and tycoons are continually pushed to the forefront over other ideas. 

“The maps I have played that are truly fantastic and show the possibilities of UEFN and creative as a whole, never amount to more than 500 concurrent players,” wrote creator The Arcane Reaper in a post. “When the islands that could’ve been made years ago with the little tools we have, are the ones with success. It’s gross.”

Creators have flooded social media with complaints that Discovery has been hijacked by bad actors. Some creators have stolen map ideas and titles, broken Creative’s terms of service, and completely gamed the system in order to be featured. Other creators that have played by the rules have been pulled from Discovery due to specific settings, false copyright strikes, unclear moderation decisions, and other technical issues. So much of the Discovery formula is out of the creator’s hands.  

Risky Revenue

Even when everything does go right – a map is performing well in Discovery and players are coming back day after day – things can change instantly without warning. A major part of running a studio is planning for the future and making sure you have enough cash on hand to cover costs and payroll. 

Projections have been anything but easy and predictable since Epic launched their creator economy in 2023. The studio and publisher pledged to pay out 40% of battle royale revenue to independent creators. Specific details around that number continue to change, including a major shift that emphasizes acquisition of players new to the Fortnite ecosystem.

“We’ll be updating the engagement payout formula[…]increase the weighting of player acquisition metrics to reward creators who are bringing new players into Fortnite and are reengaging lapsed players,” the studio wrote in a post in July. “This adjustment better reflects the importance of introducing new players to the Fortnite ecosystem.”

While Epic has the ability and right to decide how payout amounts should be calculated, no communication between the company and creators was made before this decision was announced and implemented. Many independent creators and studios had already built months-long strategies based on the current makeup of the Fortnite ecosystem. 

“Many of the creators affected by this negatively are variety creators. Understandably payouts do fluctuate up and down, but when you see more plays for the month, than the last few months and 60% less payout, somethings going on,” wrote Bifrost Studios co-founder DWDFN in a post.  “Watching maps that have stable player bases, earning way less is not really a good look for longevity.  What is the point in making a quality game that makes players want to come back if earnings are based off of new players?”

This payout change is far from the only fluctuation in revenue that creators see from month-to-month. Fortnite’s battle royale revenue can change based on skin releases, battle pass timing, and other factors that creators have no control over or insight into. 

The Future Of Fortnite

Creators make up an enormous part of the Creative ecosystem and deserve to contribute to major decisions that will impact their work and livelihoods. The majority of the Fortnite community want the same thing as Epic when it comes to Creative: a successful platform, a variety of games, and a commitment to the future. 

“Fortnite Creative, Discover, Search, & Browse are all still in their very early stages,” wrote creator Ajax in a post. “In the future, unique & well built games will have their time to shine. And those of us who stick it out and continue to grind will be there to reap the benefits”

As Creative expands, more creators will come together to form studios and take on more ambitious projects. The challenge in starting and operating these groups will remain steep, although early adopters who push the platform forward now will help themselves and those that come in the future have an easier time while creating within Fortnite.