CREATOR NEWSLETTER
Issue #311 | Jan. 30, 2025
Gaming-related videos have been a major genre of online content since YouTube began. As the gaming world has grown, creators have expanded their empires beyond videos and streams of gameplay. Some gaming creators earn millions today by creating custom game experiences for hit games like Fortnite.
Epic Games dipped their toes further into the creator economy in 2023 with the launch of Unreal Editor for Fortnite, which offered creators the ability to make money by creating their own Fortnite gaming experiences. When players play these experiences, creators get a cut of the revenue generated.
The program has proved immensely popular. Over 70,000 total creators are creating custom experiences within the game, and so far, over 198,000 unique islands have been published, according to the company. If you’re unaware, most of Fortnite’s gameplay centers around battle royale-style shootouts on an island. However, it has expanded over time to include other modes, such as racing and a Lego world.
Fortnite’s creator-produced islands have been a hit with players. On average, nearly 60,000 creator-made islands were played daily in Fortnite, and more than 70% of all Fortnite players continued to play Epic and creator-made games in 2024.
The island-creation program has become incredibly lucrative for creators. Epic Games paid out more than $350 million to creators in 2024 alone, with 37 creators now generating over $1 million through the program. Epic also recently introduced Creator Profiles so fans can discover and play their favorite creators’ islands. Epic writes that this is to help creators “build audiences inside Fortnite.”
These numbers show that creating custom game experiences is a huge growth opportunity in the creator economy. Games like Fortnite are massive, and creating a custom experience can lead to massive exposure for a creator, on top of the incase generated. Custom experiences are also an opportunity to expand IP created on YouTube into the digital realm.
For instance, the creator of the viral phenomenon Skibidi Toilet licenses out their IP to a slew of Roblox creators. Last year, about eight custom Skibidi Toilet Roblox games were played by about 50 million collective users. Because the partner creator program space is still relatively new, there is also less competition in building these custom experiences.
As these programs expand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see gaming creators going on to develop their own games as well. If you amass enough of a following creating in someone else’s game, why not try to parlay your audience into something you control eventually?
– Taylor Lorenz, Passionfruit Contributor
PERSONALITIES
The MrBeast Brand Is Coming to Las Vegas With The MrBeast Experience
Will you gamble with Jimmy Donaldson?
By Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor
SPONSORED
Be Your Biggest Stan, Make Your Own Stanley
Your logo, your face, your name, your dog…pretty much anything you can think of can go on the side of a Stanley. Nothing says “professional” like slurping out of a branded mug on stream, it’s like 90% of what makes TV talk shows work (think about it, it’s true). Give Stanley Create a try and customize your Stanley for free.
IN THE BIZ
- The Spotify Creator program makes starting a podcast on the platform easier than ever.
- Mark Zuckerberg teased a 2025 “return to OG Facebook.”
- The NFL and YouTube have updated their creator program to allow former players to use official footage.
- Threads will add a “media” tab and allow users to tag people in photos.
PLATFORMS
Is Microsoft Taking Over TikTok?
This would be the second time Microsoft has discussed buying the app.
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
PERSONALITIES
Are Logan and Jake Paul (Finally) Fighting?
Things aren’t as they seem.
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Creator Economy Live is Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- SXSW Conference is Mar. 7-11 in Austin, Texas.
- Influencer Marketing Show is Apr. 22-25 in Davie, Florida.
- the platform is Mar. 21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Gen Z have been using “aura points” to describe how cool or uncool an action is. For example, littering may result in a 300 aura point loss, but successfully landing a skate trick could result in a 500 aura point gain.
It’s hard to say what might happen if you have negative aura. This video from The Daily Dot may clear things up. Check it out below!
Copyright © 2024 Passionfruit, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to get the latest tips, tricks,
and trends in the creator economy from Passionfruit.
Have an idea for our next big story or want to get featured? Email us at tips@passionfru.it
Don’t want to hear from us anymore?
Click here to unsubscribe
To view in your browser click here
