The concept of the “metaverse” currently has no single, fixed definition, but it seems that closest to realizing this idea is a battle royale that brings together various gaming licenses from around the world, music concerts, and other special events.
However, Epic is not just Fortnite and Unreal Engine, but also the Epic Games Store, the games Rocket League and Fall Guys, the ArtStation service, and even the Bandcamp platform. The grand plan is to bring all these elements together. Tim Sweeney said:
“Over the coming years, we aim to combine these pieces into something that looks increasingly like the metaverse from science fiction. Not in a dystopian way, but in a positive way, where you and your friends can step into a 3D environment and explore the world.”
The big convergence will obviously affect more than just the company’s licenses. Millions of developers are expected to create content for billions of viewers.
“The world is not the work of Epic or any other corporation, but a collaborative effort of developers from all over the world, different countries, and genres.”
Some of the plans were revealed in early 2022. In April, it was announced that Epic would develop a metaverse together with LEGO, and there are also plans to create a dedicated Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), which even includes its own scripting language, Verse. The launch of these elements was supposed to take place late this year, but has been pushed back.