New World Notes

Fortnite Becomes Much More of a Metaverse Platform with Unreal Editor Integration, Asset Store, Better Monetization for User Creators

Fortnite in recent years has been the least metaverse-ish of the leading metaverse platforms. While interviewing insiders for my book, my strong sense is that Epic hadn't originally anticipated outside brands considering the platform as a real world application platform, and assumed it would be more akin to a standard modding mode for gamers. And that as a publisher from the traditional AAA game industry, Epic was still holding a tight rein on the platform to protect its brand, even if that meant falling short of the Stephenson ideal.

"It's insane,” as one frustrated community creator puts it to me. “They want to be a part of this Metaverse, but they are limiting what can actually be done. If you're really wanting a true Metaverse, then more brands should be able to be in a space whether [Epic] wants to support it or not."

That all changed this week.

Epic made a series of announcements and updates during GDC 2023 that I'm still combing through, somewhat distracted by Rod Humble's Second Life-but-XXL mic drop.

For one, there's the integration of Unreal with Fortnite (watch above), enabling multi-user, multi-platform live editing. (Question: I wonder if live editing can some day be incorporated into published maps, enabling a creator to alter an experience around its user in real time.)  

And then as mentioned in the video, Epic is launching the Epic equivalent of the Unity Asset Store, called Fab:

 

Despite Widespread Tech Layoffs, Metaverse Platforms Currently Have 800+ Job Openings

With news that Microsoft is shutting down its VR metaverse platform AltspaceVR, along with widespread layoffs across most of the major tech companies, you might assume the Metaverse as an industry is also feeling the string.

Not so much.

On a quick tally of leading metaverse platforms in terms of active users, along with promising metaverse startups I've written about recently, I'm seeing nearly 800 current job openings at minimum. (And by the way, Microsoft and Minecraft developer Mojang still currently have 6 Minecraft-related job openings.) 

Here's links to these job openings available as of today, January 24, 2023:

Roblox, the market leader among metaverse platforms in terms of users, currently has 194 job openings.

Epic Games, developer of Fortnite/Fortnite Creative, currently has 368 job openings.

Rec Room, the most popular metaverse platform among Quest 2 users, currently has 45 job openings.

VRChat, the best next gen metaverse platform, currently has 19 job openings.

Naver Z, developer of mobile metaverse platform Zepeto, currently has 14 job openings.

Lockwood Publishing, the game studio behind Avakin Life, currently has 7 job openings.

Garena, the creator of Freefire, a Fortnite-like metaverse platform that's huge in Asia/South America, currently has 54 job openings.

There's also at least 150 job openings in promising startups featured by New World Notes, including:

Watch: Powerful YouTube Series on People Transformed Through Fortnite Creative

"Created in Fortnite" is a really beautiful and moving YouTube series from Epic Games, mini-documentaries of diverse individuals whose lives have been transformed by becoming builders in Fortnite Creative. Here's one above on GQuanoe, who created the much-shared tribute to MLK's "I have a dream" speech in Fortnite.

Also cool: Grace Lind Hubbell at Epic, who helped put this together (with Victory Pictures), got her start in Teen Second Life. Her avatar name was Lucky Figtree, and she worked on SL-based experiences like Global Kids and Relay for Life back in the day. And now here she is, helping lead a big budget production for Epic Games. In other words: it's a documentary series about people who've been transformed by the Metaverse, told with the help of someone who's been transformed by the Metaverse.

Here's another one featuring Sophieex, a young British mother (sorry, mum!) who became fast friends and Creative collaborator with a New York-based creator called Caiya: