This is a mutually beneficial collaboration between creators and the company.
Epic Games has announced that starting in December 2025, Fortnite island creators will be able to sell in-game items directly on their islands, opening up new opportunities to monetize their creations.
The items sold can be either consumable (e.g., bonuses) or permanent (weapons or cosmetic items). These items will only be available on the creator's island and cannot be used in other parts of the game.
Until the end of 2026, creators will receive 100% of the V-Bucks value for items sold (minus platform and store fees, which account for approximately 74% of the amount spent on V-Bucks). From 2027, the creators' share will decrease to 50% to cover the costs of supporting the Fortnite ecosystem, including servers, moderation, and other operational expenses.
Creators will also be able to pay to have their islands featured in a new sponsored row in the game menu to increase the visibility of their work. Until the end of 2026, 100% of the revenue from this feature will also go into the engagement pool, and from 2027 — 50%.
Epic Games already pays island creators based on player engagement. 40% of the net revenue from the Fortnite in-game store and related real-money purchases is distributed among island creators based on factors such as playtime, attracting new and returning players, retention on the island, and V-Bucks spending during gameplay.
Players have spent over 11.2 billion hours on 260,000 user-created islands, with total payouts to creators amounting to $722 million.
