Fortnite Island Creators Were Paid $350 Million in 2024

Fortnite paid out a whopping $350 million to creators who made custom maps and game modes last year, up 11% from 2023 (via Posting Nexus).

Custom “islands” allow Fortnite players to create their own maps, complete with bespoke rules and gameplay features. Players can jump into these islands and experience the builder-shooter in new ways, with the most popular ones receiving monetary compensation from game maker Epic Games under the Unreal Engine for Fortnite program.

The number of custom island creators for Fortnite tripled in 2024, surging from around 24,000 in 2023 to over 70,000 last year. Only about 13,000 of those creators made at least $100 USD from their islands, but 37 generated north of $1 million and the most successful seven netted more than $10 million.

These figures come from Fortnite‘s annual report on its creator ecosystem, released last week. According to the report, Fortnite players spent 5.23 billion hours on creator-made islands last year — a whopping 36.5% of the total time spent inside the game.

Posting Nexus‘s Julia Alexander likened Fortnite to YouTube in how decentralized content on the platform boosts the entire ecosystem’s popularity. “For Epic Games and Fortnite, which is in a position to become the YouTube of gaming in this way, that means leaning into what Fortnite currently isn’t to become what Fortnite must be — a galaxy of interweaving planets, not the sun everything revolves around,” she concluded.

The success of custom islands might bring creators big bucks, but it ultimately benefits Fortnite by translating to more hours spent in the game. Fortnite currently has more than 30 million daily players across all platforms.

To grab more of its player base’s attention (and wallets), Fortnite released its v33.20 update earlier this month, featuring new Godzilla and Monsterverse-themed cosmetics and game mechanics.