Tuesday, 07 September 2021 20:07

Fortnite Adds Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo Character to Game

Written by Tyler Shipley
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Fans finally have a chance to play as the protagonist from the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo after Fortnite adds the character to the battle royale.

Last year during Summer Game Fest, gamers received a first look at the future of video game graphics. This glimpse into the future was provided through the reveal of Unreal Engine 5, the newest version of the game engine developed by Epic Games. The tech demo shown during the Summer Game Fest introduced a couple of new technologies such as the Lumen lighting system and the Nanite technology used for creating complex polygonal objects. To show off these new technologies, the creators of the project decided to create a short narrative focused on a female protagonist. Due to the popularity of the character, the developers at Epic Games have decided to bring the character to Fortnite.

In a recent tweet, Fortnite announced that the protagonist from the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo is available now in the Item Shop. It seems fitting that the mascot of Unreal Engine 5 should join the game as Fortnite currently runs on the previous version of the game engine, Unreal Engine 4. Beyond coming to the battle royale, gamers finally know the name of the character. According to Epic Games, she is called Windwalker Echo. While the character looks less detailed than in the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, she still comes with the same memorable outfit.

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In addition to coming to Fortnite, Windwalker Echo is featured in a new animated video called Slay. Created using Unreal Engine, the video made by Mold3D Studio showcases Echo as she fights a threatening enemy guarding a glowing object. The impressive project reveals how the engine can be used to create high-level animation. While the complete version of Unreal Engine 5 doesn’t launch until 2022, many developers like Mold3D Studio are already working with the new engine as part of Early Access. A few months ago, The Coalition unveiled a video called Alpha Point showing the impressive capabilities of the engine.

As Echo prepares to join Fortnite, a number of other new skins have been added to the game recently. Last week, Epic Games revealed that the Shang-Chi outfit was added to the game. This new skin was meant to help celebrate the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In addition to the new character outfit, Epic Games released the Great Protector’s Shield Back Bling, Blades of the Brother Hand Pickaxes, and Dragon’s Scale Wrap based on the movie as well.

As Windwalker Echo continues to appear in new media such as in Fortnite and in more Unreal Engine projects, it seems increasingly possible that the character might eventually be featured in a full-length game. While time will tell if this happens, the future of gaming looks exciting as a number of new games are being created with Unreal Engine 5.

Fortnite is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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