Fortnite: VR support could be in development - report
Fortnite is often cited as a showcase for a metaverse future. Now the game is apparently getting support for metaverse technology VR.
Epic Games' super hit Fortnite lures millions of youngsters into digital 3D worlds. Nothing special so far, one could argue. Other games can do that, too.
The difference with Fortnite, however, is that it started as a normal online game and has evolved into a social platform. Fortnite went from being a simple shooter with colorful cartoon graphics to a cultural phenomenon, a place for digital gatherings. That's how some people imagine the emergence of the metaverse.
Epic integrates VR code into Fortnite
Fortnite leaker HypeX mentions on Twitter that Epic added lines of code for Oculus Quest / Meta Quest 2 in the latest Fortnite update. Fortnite is played from the third-person perspective but is supposed to get a first-person mode in the future, according to leaks from the last few weeks. There might be a connection between the VR mode and the new game perspective.
The greatest challenge will be to port the PC and console game Fortnite to the mobile Quest processor. If one company could manage that in decent quality, it would probably be Epic Games: With Robo Recall, Epic launched a VR flagship for the PC in 2016, which was ported in decent quality for the first (!) Quest in 2019.
Sony and Epic's joint path into the metaverse - Fortnite VR also for PSVR2?
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is known as a VR and metaverse enthusiast who has been advocating open standards in the XR space for years. Expanding Fortnite further in the direction of the metaverse platform, and thus also integrating VR support, would be a logical step. Fortnite as a metaverse ramp would be years ahead of Meta's Horizon Worlds, for example.
Moreover, gaming giant Sony invested more than a billion US dollars in Fortnite, for a "revolutionary entertainment experience" (Sony, Yoshida) and "real-time 3D social experiences" (Epic Games, Sweeney). This sounds a lot like a shared metaverse vision.
Since Sweeney positions himself as an open-platform advocate, releasing Fortnite VR on as many VR platforms as possible would be the consequence - an exclusive deal with Meta would be a big surprise. Sony is launching Playstation VR 2 in early 2023 and Fortnite VR would have a great appeal.
Sweeney expects the metaverse to take about ten years to build. He sees VR and AR as important building blocks for the metaverse, which is expected to be a "monstrously complicated" project.
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