Fortnite will not be getting a VR version, says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney
Epic has no plans to port Fortnite to virtual reality. According to CEO Tim Sweeney, the popular online shooter doesn't work in VR.
Fortnite is, according to some, one of the first major metaverse platforms. The online shooter has evolved over the years into a digital gathering place for social events and a venue for virtual concerts. A virtual reality implementation would actually stand to reason. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney sees it differently.
Epic CEO: Fortnite gameplay doesn't work in VR
Just a few months ago, a well-known leaker discovered a few lines of VR code in the latest Fortnite update and suspected a possible VR support for Fortnite. However, the Epic CEO personally denies any plans for a VR implementation of the gaming hit.
In an interview with The Verge, VR and Metaverse enthusiast Tim Sweeney explains why Fortnite won't get a VR implementation - it simply wouldn't work.
"The thing that we do in Fortnite every day as gamers is run through an environment rapidly, and it’s the kind of experience that involves intense motion and doesn’t work as well in VR," said Sweeney.
If something is worth doing…
Although Sweeney gives a pass to a VR implementation of Fortnite, Epic isn't closing its mind to virtual reality.
"If we were to ever do anything in VR, it would have to be something that’s really custom tailored for the experience. And it’s not that we have any negative view of that. We just have 101 things to do." said Sweeney
He also said collaborations with other Metaverse companies are always an option for Epic, saying, "We’re a very open company. We’ll partner with any company on metaverse collaborations and open metaverse efforts in any way that we can be productive with them."
Is motion sickness slowing down Fortnite VR?
Sweeney's suggestion that Fortnite gameplay won't work in VR alludes to the possibility of motion sickness in VR games. For some people, it happens that free movement in VR causes discomfort. A discrepancy between seen and physically experienced motion causes the effect.
The virtual reality environment simulates movement to the eye that the body does not follow. The vestibular system in the inner ear thus perceives something other than what the eye perceives. This sensory contradiction is an alarm signal for the brain. It assumes intoxication and tries to remove potentially harmful substances from the stomach through nausea.
Comfort settings could make Fortnite VR possible
Adapting Fortnite's fast-paced gameplay to virtual reality may still be possible. Population: One, for example, is already a similarly inclined battle royal shooter for Meta Quest 2. Various comfort features in VR games can mitigate or eliminate motion sickness symptoms.
These include artificial rotations such as quick turns adjustable in degree increments or movement via teleport. Other settings replace flowing movements with jumps from one point to the next. Read more about this in our guide to Motion Sickness.
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