How to enroll to Fortnite Island Creator program - Engagement payout, restrictions, and more

With the official release of the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), popularly known as Creative 2.0, island creators now have access to tools that let them make Fortnite content that's more immersive than ever before. These creators will see a significant improvement in the degree of customization that's available to them with the latest UEFN, which takes advantage of Unreal Engine 5.1's graphics power and extensive asset collection.

UEFN is an upgraded version of Fortnite's standard Creative Mode that allows creators to design custom experiences in Unreal Engine and then publish them into the game. In addition to UEFN, Creator Economy 2.0 was introduced along with engagement rewards, a new opportunity for island creators to earn real money based on user interaction and engagement with their uploaded content.

Here's how you can register for the Island Creator program and what it offers to island creators based on engagement and the restrictions on the content that they create.

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Fortnite Island Creator Program - How to apply, engagement payouts, and more

Island Creators can now sign up to be a part of the program and receive payouts in accordance with the updated Creator Economy 2.0. Epic Games highlighted how the current system of engagement rewards will distribute 40% of the net revenue from the Item Shop and most real-money in-game purchases to the creators of qualified islands and experiences.

Nonetheless, Epic's current Support-A-Creator program, which was instrumental in the development of Creator Economy 1.0, will continue to operate, although in a more traditional capacity as an affiliate marketing initiative for those who create videos for online platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

To bring the focus back to having fun, the Support-A-Creator gadget that previously existed on creative islands has been removed. Currently, all you have to do to express your appreciation for your favorite island creators is visit their islands.

Island Creator home page (Image via Epic Games)

Creators must either be a legal entity, such as a company, or an individual who's at least 18 years old and whose Epic account is at least 90 days old in order to receive payments. Interestingly, Epic plans to announce further developments regarding the program's expansion to younger developers in the future.

After being approved into the program, creators may monitor their profits by visiting the Payout page of their creator dashboard. Epic makes it easy for creators to join up and obtain their own unique creator URL by simply visiting create.fortnite.com and filling out the required info.

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Criteria for engagement payouts and restrictions on monetization of islands

Engagement Payouts will be calculated for each creator on the basis of the following criteria, as listed in the official blog post:

1. Player Popularity: Islands that attract players newly joining, and lapsed players returning to the game contribute to this calculation.
2. Player Retention: Islands where players return day-to-day and week-to-week indicate compelling gameplay.

With the launch of UEFN, other creators began organizing their content, such as re-introducing the classic Battle Royale maps into Creative. A number of creators have already begun publishing their own maps based on the original Chapter 1 season to amass a sizable player base.

After careful consideration, Epic has stated that the new Creator Economy 2.0 will not apply to remakes of previous Battle Royale Chapters and Seasons. Moreover, creators are only permitted to make and distribute reboots of the OG Chapter 1 seasons, leaving Chapters 2 and 3 in the dust.

A further limitation that prevents creators from uploading copyrighted or inappropriate content to the game through UEFN adds more fuel to the fire of this discussion. In addition to a permanent ban for breaking these restrictions, Epic can pursue legal action against that developer if they do so.

Although UEFN introduces a plethora of opportunities to transform Fortnite's sandbox, it also introduces a large number of regulations that creators must follow in order to contribute to the dynamic metaverse that Epic hopes to establish in the game.

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In 2018, Epic Games added a sandbox mode to Fortnite called Creative, giving game developers and fans the freedom to build their own islands and mini-games. At GDC 2023, Epic revealed that more than a million of these islands had been created, and that players spend more than 40 percent of their time in Fortnite on these fan-made islands.