Unity and Epic Games have announced a surprise partnership that would bring Unity-made games into Fortnite and also enable Unreal Engine support on Unity"s cross-platform commerce platform.
For those unaware, Epic Games, the creator of Unreal Engine and Fortnite, has been in a fierce competition with Unity for many many years. Each of the platforms powers millions of games across all kinds of devices and operating systems. This announcement is the first time Unity-made games will be available inside Fortnite, which has one of the largest gaming ecosystems globally, with over 500 million registered accounts, as well as a Creator Economy paying out hundreds of millions to creators each year.
Unity would be making its commerce platform and the in-app purchase APIs available to Unreal Engine developers.
Matt Bromberg, President and CEO, Unity, said:
“We’re excited to partner with Epic Games to create more opportunities for game developers around the world. Choice and open systems create growth for everyone in the gaming ecosystem.”
What makes this partnership different is that this one actually builds upon Epic Games" stance over the past few years, where the company has advocated for interoperability, open systems, and developer choice. The company has been one of the strongest voices for forcing platforms like Apple and Google to support alternative payment methods and digital storefronts.
Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO, referenced the move to the “early days of the web,” arguing that only collaboration between major tech players can build the open metaverse in a way that’s “interoperable and fair”.
“Just like the early days of the web, we believe that companies need to work together in order to build the open metaverse in a way that’s interoperable and fair. Working alongside Unity we’re helping developers build fun games, reach bigger audiences, and find success.”
Epic’s move clearly takes aim at platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, which have their own creator economies but operate under more restrictive publishing and monetization rules. By inviting Unity games into Fortnite and opening commerce options for Unreal developers, Epic and Unity are setting up Fortnite as a powerful alternative hub for game creation, distribution, and monetization.
Notably, both companies are also active members of the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), which advocates for interoperable standards in 3D content creation and the open metaverse. Their collaboration could potentially accelerate industry-wide adoption of open standards, making cross-engine content creation and ecosystem interoperability the new norm.
The company said in the announcement that the full rollout of Unity game publishing in Fortnite is expected next year, with the necessary networking infrastructure already underway. Developers participating in Fortnite’s Creator Economy can expect new pathways for exposure and payouts, while Unreal Engine users gain fresh alternatives for managing in-game purchases and cross-platform promotions via Unity’s SDK.