When Epic Games revealed its latest gaming engine, Unreal Engine 5, it was mentioned that Fortnite would be the first game to be powered by it. With Fortnite Chapter 3 officially underway, Epic Games revealed that Fortnite is now on Unreal Engine 5.
With the arrival of Chapter 3, @FortniteGame development has flipped to Unreal Engine 5.
We're excited to share this journey with you and are working to make this the best experience possible for the entire Fortnite community.
— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) December 7, 2021
Unreal Engine 5 is the latest gaming engine from Epic Games and the most advanced yet. It is advanced in every way over the Unreal Engine 4 and competing gaming engines. Despite that, the goal of Unreal Engine 5 is to allow more significant and better things when it comes to not only gaming development but also uniting the gaming development scene.
Going beyond the engine, it’s important to realize that Epic Games is trying to unite developers across the board. With Unreal Engine 5, the goal is to create assets that can be used across multiple platforms. This would mean no more creating assets that are for a specific platform, requiring developers and designers to double or triple work. Instead, the same asset would be used, as an example on the PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and then onto mobile devices.
While Fortnite is the first game to be migrated to Unreal Engine 5, it wouldn’t be the last. Making things easier for other developers, migrating existing games and projects already running on Unreal Engine 4. Something that wasn’t possible when attempting to port games from Unreal Engine 3 to 4.
While Fortnite is the first to be ported to Unreal Engine 5, it won’t be the last (big shock). Expect to see most of your favorite games already powered by Unreal 4 to make the jump to Unreal Engine 5. In addition to those, several titles have already been announced to make the jump to the game engine. This includes the following;
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl
- Quantum Error
- ARK II
- The Matrix Awakens (we know it’s not a game)
There are also rumors that the next Netherrealm fighting game, either the next Mortal Kombat (Mortal Kombat 12?) or the Injustice 2, would be powered by Unreal Engine 5. Granted, neither game has been confirmed. Yet, it’s a safe assumption that either (or both) games will be announced running the new game engine.
As for when those games will be announced, that’s anyone’s guess. With The Game Awards show taking place on December 9, 2021. It’s a possibility that either game will be revealed.
