Get ready for more AI characters in Fortnite. Developer Epic Games is going to let Fortnite creators publish experiences featuring characters with AI-powered voices starting on July 30th, and ahead of that launch, it’s created 36 characters with “consistent voices and personas” that creators can use as NPCs. The characters include Fortnite staples like Agent Jonesy, Peely (the banana), Fishstick (a walking fish), and Cuddle Team Leader (who wears a pink bear mascot head).
Epic tested the waters of AI characters with last year’s Darth Vader NPC that was powered by James Earl Jones’ voice — a collaboration that Jones’ estate signed off on. Even though players quickly got Vader to swear, something Epic fixed quickly, the company announced shortly after debuting Vader that Fortnite creators would be able to make AI-powered characters of their own.
The voices for these new personas rely on “performances captured from independent professional actors specifically for use in developer-made islands,” Epic says. “The actors agreed to have their performances used to develop voice models that create the spoken responses for these LLM-powered Fortnite characters.”
Down the line, it sounds like Epic wants to make characters featuring voices from the well-known actors that have appeared in the Fortnite universe, but it will have to secure the right approvals to do so. “Our next step is to work with the relevant guilds and character voice actors who have previously worked on Fortnite Battle Royale to explore opportunities to make their original voices available across the Fortnite ecosystem,” the company says.