Unreal Engine for Fortnite creator payouts surpass $1bn

• Unreal Fest 2026 revealed new stats about Unreal Engine for Fortnite.
• Creators have earned more than $1 billion in payouts since its launch.

Creators using Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN) have earned more than $1 billion in payouts since its launch in 2023.

The sum was announced during Unreal Fest 2026, alongside confirmation that over 75% of in-game transactions come from games other than battle royales. There are also more than 75 million monthly active users playing games in Fortnite.

Epic Games director, Fortnite developer relations Hannah Lowry took to the stage during the annual Unreal Fest to reveal the latest metrics, adding that 47% of all hours played in Fortnite come from community-made games.

"Your games are a growing share of Fortnite playtime. In May, we saw them capture 47% of all player hours, up from just 38% a year ago," she said.

"And with over $1 billion now paid out to developers since the launch of UEFN, these teams are building businesses here."

Leveraging Unreal

UEFN launched in 2023 as a new way for developers to create and publish content directly into Fortnite, transforming the battle royale title into something of a games hub. Leveraging Unreal Engine tools, this has supported creators with building worlds, animations, rendering, lighting, VFX and more.

UEFN has also presented an opportunity to publish games that may be seen by millions of players across platforms. It launched during Epic Games’ legal battles with Apple and Google, while Fortnite was banned from the major mobile stores, but the game has since returned to mobile globally.

Creators can monetise through UEFN through engagement payouts and in-island transactions. On stage, Lowry revealed more than 3,000 islands now earn more revenue from the latter.

"We’re continuing to see a growing share of total payouts coming from in-island transactions. It’s been a boost for genres outside of battle royale and shooters," she shared.

"We know it takes trust to build on a platform that’s still maturing, and this year, stability and developer effectiveness is our number one priority."

Unreal Fest also set a target release window for Unreal Engine 6, expected for the end of 2027.