Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has outlined the company's ambitious next steps, which involve developing the next-generation Unreal Engine 6 as part of its broader Metaverse initiative.
Epic's Vision for a Roblox and Fortnite Metaverse, Alongside Unreal Engine 6
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney Envisions an Interoperable Metaverse and Economy
During an interview with The Verge, Tim Sweeney revealed Epic Games' next major endeavor. He detailed plans for an interoperable "metaverse" that leverages the marketplace and assets from major Unreal Engine games like Fortnite and Roblox, along with other related projects.
Sweeney stated that Epic now has the financial resources to realize these plans throughout the decade. "We have substantial funding compared to most industry players and are making strategic investments that we can adjust based on our performance," he explained. "We believe we're ideally positioned to execute our plans and achieve our goals at our current scale."
Epic's strategy involves integrating its high-end development tools, Unreal Engine, with the Unreal Editor for Fortnite—essentially creating a powerful Unreal Engine 6 that merges both platforms, a project expected to take several years. "The true potential will emerge when we combine these worlds, blending the full power of our advanced game engine with the user-friendly features of [Unreal Editor for Fortnite]," Sweeney said. "This process will take several years, and upon completion, it will become Unreal Engine 6."
According to Sweeney, Unreal Engine 6 will enable developers—from AAA studios to indie creators—to "build an application once and deploy it as a standalone game across any platform." This paves the way for an interoperable metaverse that utilizes shared content and a unified "technology foundation."
Sweeney elaborated, "We've announced a partnership with Disney to create their own ecosystem, which will seamlessly integrate with the Fortnite ecosystem. Unreal Engine 6 will provide the technological foundation to make this possible for everyone—AAA developers, indie creators, and Fortnite builders alike."
However, Sweeney noted that discussions with Roblox and Microsoft, owner of Minecraft, haven't begun yet, but added, "we will engage in those conversations over time." He emphasized, "Players are increasingly drawn to games where they can play with all their friends, and they spend more on digital items in games they trust for the long term," outlining a revenue-sharing model he aims to promote.
"Why invest in digital items for a game you're only trying out? An interoperable economy would boost player confidence, ensuring that today's purchases result in long-term ownership and usability across various platforms."
Echoing this vision, Epic EVP Saxs Persson stated, "There's no technical barrier to creating a federated system that connects Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite. From our standpoint, this would be incredible, as it keeps communities together and allows the best ecosystem to thrive."
"We're not inventing from scratch; we're expanding on what already works in Fortnite. We're simply doubling down on proven successes," Persson remarked in a previous interview with The Verge, where executives discussed the practical implementation of this metaverse.
Persson added, "When you play with friends and have more options, you stay longer, play more, and enjoy the experience. The logic is straightforward." As Sweeney concluded, "In gaming, multiple ecosystems and publishers coexist, so no single company can dominate entirely, unlike what we've seen in the smartphone industry."
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