Fri, Jul 13, 2012 | 15:00 BST

Fortnite is PC exclusive, first to utilize Unreal Engine 4

Today at San Diego Comic-Con, Epic Games revealed the first look at its co-op sandbox survival game, Fortnite, which will be exclusive to PC and the first game to utilize Unreal Engine 4.

During its Comic Con panel, Epic announced the game will release in 2013, allowing players to “explore, forage, collaborate and build by day in their own dynamic and expanding world.”

At night, they’ll have to work together to defend their fortress “from the forces of darkness.”

Attendees at the panel also received a first look at Fortnite’s building system, which is designed so that “players can use scavenged materials to quickly build and renovate structures of varying materials and complexity.”

Over on Polygon, the site reports that during the panel and presentation, producer Tanya Jessen told attendees building is the “core of the game,” as everything a player finds will allow them to “build and improve,” their structures.

Players can build and edit the walls of their fortification using a 3×3 grid, and even add stairs, windows, doors and rooftops. If you want to rebuild a wall, just use an axe and a sledgehammer to tear it down and rebuild. Players can also reclaim the materials used to build it.

The demonstration also showed various ways to upgrade weapons, the crossbow being one such example, as it can be outfitted with explosives and electric shocks.

Design director Cliff Bleszinski, also part of the panel, said the game was designed exclusively for PC, and while it originally was a more traditional, post-apocalyptic game, the team found the aesthetic to be too “depressing.”

Bleszinski has since clarified on Twitter that Epic hasn’t “ruled out the possibility of other platforms later.”

Bleszinski and Jessen both hinted the game would continue evolve after release, with updates possibly changing gameplay mechanics.

Screenshots are below.

25 comment-trail-alt Posted in: Action, Comic Con 2012, PC, RPG, Sandbox, Screens
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25 comments

#1

freedoms_stain
12/07/12, 7:57 pm

Hmm, this sounds awfully familiar.

#2

DSB
12/07/12, 7:59 pm

It’s sounds like Minecraft and Rebuild, but I really think that’s a brilliant basis for a game.

If they do it right, it’s gonna be epic. Pun intended.

#3

Edo
12/07/12, 8:04 pm

Unreal Engine 4?Are they sure…

#4

TMRNetShark
12/07/12, 8:07 pm

@2 Pun very much intended. XD

I would like to see how this plays out. Blocks are great and all in Minecraft… but it’s not really what I would call the “prettiest” of games. I mean, I understand it’s suppose to run on a wide range of hardware… but I think Fortnite will be great if they do it right. Maybe it will spawn a new genre of games (aka survival building games).

#5

Stephany Nunneley
12/07/12, 8:14 pm

Screenshots are finally in. They were rather large. Normally, we like that sort of thing around here…………

#6

Edo
12/07/12, 8:16 pm

@5 You are shameless…keep it up :D ,btw those graphics sure are intense………………..

#7

Moonwalker1982
12/07/12, 8:42 pm

So not for consoles? I guess Epic’s way of kinda saying fuck you to MS and Sony? Kinda like..hey hurry up with the new consoles.

#8

Stardog
12/07/12, 9:06 pm

Hopefully there’s nothing casual about it. It’s hard to tell until we see some gameplay. Are walls destructable and everything?

#9

BULArmy
12/07/12, 9:10 pm

@7 It was known for a long time that Epic are working on PC exclusive, it is kind of surprise that this is the exclusive game.
I think it is a good idea generally, but still a new Unreal/Unreal Tournament would have been x100 better.

#10

CPC_RedDawn
12/07/12, 9:13 pm

I am very pleased that it is a PC exclusive. However, for how long?

Also… this is the game they choose to showcase their brand new engine that can produce amazing graphics. After the UE4 unveil trailer it’s just a bit of a let down. I was epecting an epic open world game which would of been cool to see epic do as they have never really done one before. But no instead they play it safe and opt for what is basically a tower defence game.

Still interested to see if this will be Free-2-Play though with ads or microtransactions… I would not be surprised at all if it were.

#11

xFreshboiiGuda
12/07/12, 9:32 pm

Cliff said “Fortnite is PC primary and first, but we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of other platforms later” Sounds like next gen consoles and by the way any pc gamers is the alienware x51 a good gaming desktop wanted to know might get it for games.

#12

Len
12/07/12, 10:00 pm

I assume they’re doing this as it won’t run on a 360 or ps3 with ue4.

And an x51 is ok but expensive (for a decent spec). build your own, more fun, cheaper and you get the parts you want. Result… :)

#13

Erthazus
12/07/12, 10:07 pm

I think this is until Xbox Next and PS4 i guess.

#14

DSB
12/07/12, 10:10 pm

Alienware usually means paying a lot for the brand. There are lots of stores or other brands that offer them assembled and ready for far, far less.

I got my latest one from IBuyPower in the US, and it was just mindblowing value. Obviously not much good in the EU though.

#15

Erthazus
12/07/12, 10:13 pm

Brand or not, Alienware machines are very good ones and they are very durable. So if you want to stress test your CPU or increase it’s speed you can be sure that with Alienware PC it’s going to be without any issue.

It’s all depends on your budget.

#16

Christopher Jack
12/07/12, 11:54 pm

@15, For the price Alienware charge for a high-mid end pc, you can get the absolute best custom built & even with some spare change.

#17

Lahanas
13/07/12, 12:00 am

When they said they have a major PC exclusive in the works most people expected something more than this. Anyway, since the start of this gen it’s all about the consoles, and once the next Xbox and PS hit, it will be back to console domination with Gears 4 etc.

#18

manamana
13/07/12, 12:37 am

How underwhelming.

#19

TheBlackHole
13/07/12, 9:34 am

Given that co-op is a big deal for this game, kinda disappointed it won’t be on console.

Don’t really see the point of exclusivity (for the consumer), or why any of you would want to prevent other people from playing good games?

#20

ManuOtaku
13/07/12, 4:51 pm

Obviously this is PC exclusive, becuase consoles right now cannot handle UE4, once they are being able to handle it, then the games will be coming to consoles too, now the thing will be if microsoft and sony would please epic in their demands for the around the corner next gen consoles?
p.s by the way nice graphics i dig the colour and the style, quite the difference between UE3 and UE4, and i dont mean in the processing power per-se, i mean for the use of colour

#21

Phoenixblight
13/07/12, 4:52 pm

@20

Most likely yes since Unreal is used for majority of developers and I will imagine even more so with how the engine makes it much easier for developers of all types.

#22

ManuOtaku
13/07/12, 4:57 pm

#21 i agree, i think sony is the most likely to do it, they always focus on the best hardware specs, without looking price or costs (not criticizing here), now microsoft is the big question, seeing that they main target is shifting, with all their focus on other things besides gaming.

#23

Phoenixblight
13/07/12, 4:59 pm

@22

Microsoft put an extra million down on the 360 for it to have more ram so that Unreal 3 would run more efficiently on it.

WIth Gears being one of their franchises I don’t think we have anything to worry about.

#24

ManuOtaku
13/07/12, 5:01 pm

#23 yes i know that, but that was back then when gaming seems to be their main focus, now iam not that sure, at least in my eyes is not that certain, it could possibly happen, dont get me wrong, i agree with you, is just that it seems to me they are focusing on other things non related to games, maybe is not a key issue like it was before back then.

#25

laughing-gravy
14/07/12, 3:03 pm

I actually preferred the samaritan demo to anything that epic has shown on UE4. This doesn’t seem like a big leap from one generation to the next. And the design appears to taken from games that are already on the market. I think I’ll pass on this one.

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