Epic Games has unleashed Fortnite Showdown Act 2 via update 40.20, and this also transitions Save the World to be a free, separate mode from Battle Royale. Console gamers will see this download as Fortnite update 1.000.218.
Alongside that, there are new additions in the form of AI-powered conversations, Laufey’s joining Fortnite Festival starting today, and more.
This might be one of the most content-packed updates we’ve seen from the game in a long while, so head on to see what’s new.
Fortnite Showdown Act 2 Now Live on April 16 via Update 40.20/1.000.218
Bring NPCs to Life with AI-Powered Conversations
The new conversations system (formerly Persona device) is now available as an Experimental feature. Fortnite developers can use conversations to create AI-powered characters with personalities and voices that can talk, react, and respond to player actions—and even drive gameplay.
As with any Experimental feature, you can try it out, provide feedback, and see what we’re planning, but publishing projects using conversations is not yet available.
Creating Voiced Characters
Instead of authoring dialogue trees for characters in your islands, conversations transforms an NPC into an AI-powered character capable of unscripted dialogue and interactions with players, like a quest giver or narrator. You define who the character is with simple prompts—how they think, what they know, and how they behave—and then select a voice that matches their persona.
These AI-powered characters can:
- Remember what’s already happened in the game session, and adapt their behavior in real time
- Respond in context to player input and communicate through voice
- Trigger events in game
Building Reactive Systems
Conversations enables gameplay systems that respond dynamically to player inputs and world-state changes through the use of the Scene Graph component and Verse API, so you can:
- Adjust prompts at runtime to change what a character knows (for example, keeping track of a player’s stats or information about the island’s world state)
- Define structured outputs (such as a mission status) and use those values to trigger gameplay outcomes
Here’s how these capabilities can come together to deliver an immersive experience for players: If a player wants to gain access to a tournament, they might need to level up to a certain milestone and convince a conversations-powered NPC that they are worthy. If they succeed, the system can automatically open the city gates and let the player into the castle.
You can also use the Verse API to have characters that simply react to gameplay, such as a commentator announcing the winner of the match, or a system that tweaks the difficulty of the game based on how the player is performing.
Testing in Experimental
This feature is an Experimental release, and developers will only be able to publish islands using conversations to players after the Beta release. Voice models are not final, and large language model (LLM) response times are slower than we expect of the final release. We will continue to improve voice quality, reduce latency, and adjust default NPC behavior during the Experimental phase.
Getting Started with Conversations
We’ve updated the Fortnite Developer Rules to include a new rule:
1.22. Conversations: When using conversations, your personas, prompts, and character designs must adhere to the Fortnite Developer Rules. In addition, you must also follow the 1.22 sub rules:
- 1.22.1. You must not create a persona designed to provide medical or mental health guidance.
- 1.22.2. You must not create a persona that role-plays as, simulates, or impersonates a date, romantic partner, or other intimate companion.
- 1.22.3. You must not attempt to circumvent or undermine our safety systems, including intentionally designing your persona to bypass our content restrictions.
Developers who break these rules will receive enforcement actions, up to and including an account ban.
More info on conversations and Personas is available on Epic’s site.
Fortnite Save the World Goes Free-to-Play
GET READY TO SAVE THE WORLD
Hold back hordes of monsters and explore a vast, destructible world. Also build huge forts, craft weapons, find loot, and level up!
Save the World Rewards Teamwork
Drop in with friends or matchmake with other Commanders. Coordinate builds and chain abilities to clear harder zones, then cash in for loot and upgrades!
On April 16 Save the World free-to-play will be on:
– PlayStation 5
– PlayStation 4
– Xbox Series X|S
– Xbox One
– Xbox Cloud Gaming
– Nintendo Switch 2
– PC
– NVIDIA GeForce NOW
– Amazon Luna
Save the World will remain unavailable on smartphones and tablets (including through cloud gaming) and the original Nintendo Switch
Laufey Headlines Fortnite Festival Season 14 and Adds Peripheral Support
With Mic Vocals, sing along in real time with any microphone that works in Fortnite on PC and Console, and with Pro Drums, plug in a Rock Band 4 or compatible MIDI drum kit to make the drum highway feel even more real.
Want to break away from the mic stand? You can now walk around and shift positions freely in the Jam Ring while you play. The new Quick Mix UI helps you quickly swap or shuffle tracks while jamming for immediate mashups.
The Season 14 Emberlight Music Pass, included for all Fortnite Crew members, grants immediate access to the White Dress Laufey Outfit. Progressing through the pass unlocks Laufey-themed instruments, Auras, and the “Madwoman” Jam Track. The final tier of the pass features the Golden Era Laufey Outfit.
The Item Shop will also feature the Lover Girl Laufey Outfit, Mei Mei the Bunny Back Bling, and Jam Tracks and Emotes for “Lover Girl” and “Tough Luck”.
If more info is shared by Epic, we’ll update the article.
In related news, it’s been mentioned that Epic is teaming up with Disney to craft their own extraction shooter to rival ARC Raiders.
