Over a third of the global population indulges in video games to connect with friends, relieve stress, and simulate strategy skills. And since they released Fortnite in 2017, Epic Games has had an unprecedented influence on the landscape of video games.
Over the years, Epic has advanced significantly. Their development and release of Unreal Engine 5 in 2022 changed the trajectory of video game animation. The software is “the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D creation tool,” allowing video game designers to create hyper-realistic worlds. The best part? Epic has released the software so that it’s free for developers until their title earns over $1 million US dollars.
At the Gamers Development Conference (GDC) in March 2023, Epic announced their long-term vision for the future of content creation, distribution, and monetization. They allowed developers to access Fortnite’s incredible audience of over 500 million player accounts by releasing Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) in Public Beta. This allows video game designers to develop new maps, games, and experiences within Fortnite for anyone to play.
Most notably, Epic announced MetaHuman Animator. MetaHuman is a framework that gives people the power to create and animate hyper-realistic human characters in any way imaginable. MetaHuman Creator, launched in 2021, is a cloud-based app that allows you to create fully rigged digital humans in mere minutes. MetaHuman Animator was released in June 2023.