Fortnite's next evolution with new creator rewards

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Fortnite has come a long way from its beginnings, way before it was even a battle royale game and was known as Fortnite: Save the World. It quickly adapted to jumping onto the popularity of battle royale games and helped to introduce millions to the genre. Then it evolved again as a fully-fledged user-generated content platform, echoing the success and premise of platforms like Roblox. 

Yet again, we now see more evolution with Epic Games' latest update that allows creators to sell in-game items directly from their created islands.

From December 2025 through to the end of 2026, developers will earn 100% of the V-Bucks value for sales made, which in practical terms equates to around 74% of retail spending. However, from 2027, the rates offered by Epic Games are set to return to 37%. That’s less than a traditional in-app purchase return.

Epic says that’s significantly higher than Roblox - but it’s worth noting Roblox recently announced there would be an 8.5% increase in its Developer Exchange rate. The competition between the platforms is heating up.

Expanded discovery

On top of the ability to sell in-game items, visibility and discoverability are also getting new features with an upcoming sponsored row that allows creators to bid for prominent placements, aiming to help creators grow their audiences. 

Although the purpose of sponsored content is to give specific titles a boost in discoverability, finding the right balance for paid placements alongside organic discovery will be key, as we've already seen how ‘broken’ marketplaces can become when this isn't done right - which we covered here.

Epic also states that, through to the end of 2026, the sponsorship revenue generated by the sponsor row will be reinvested in the engagement payout pool to boost the pool size for the creator. However, in the long-term, this figure will shift to 50% starting January 1st, 2027.

That’s not everything, there’s also Fortnite Creator Communities, a space that lets creators share updates, post events and communicate directly with players. Think how many studios and developers use the likes of Discord for such things - now Fortnite will have its own dedicated space for something similar. 

These tools, along with the ability to sell items, present new opportunities for the platform and its creators. However, it will be interesting to see how creators feel once the returns significantly drop in the future. 

Overall, how platforms like Roblox and Fortnite choose to incentivise creators and how sustainable those methods are will play a key role in shaping the future of the user-generated content space.

Learn more about the world of UGC from some of our expert speakers at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on October 7th to 8th.