AI Darth Vader Was the Beginning: Epic Reveals Plans to Let People Create Their Own AI NPCs in Fortnite
Following the release of AI Darth Vader into Fortnite, Epic has announced plans to let people create their own AI NPCs in the all-encompassing battle royale.
AI Darth Vader hit Fortnite last month. He can serenade you, join and leave squads at will, respond intelligently to the player, issue impromptu dialogue, summarize gameplay events, and warn the player if something’s about to go down.
Darth Vader is voiced by the inimitable James Earl Jones, who died in September 2024 at the age of 93. This AI version of his voice, powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5, is used with the Jones family’s permission.
Within an hour of the feature going live, Fortnite players manipulated Vader into saying the kind of things very much associated with the Dark Side, including swearing. Epic soon patched it out.
AI Darth Vader, it seems, was just the beginning. During State of Unreal 2025, Epic unveiled plans to release new tools for creators to build their own AI-powered NPCs in Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). As demonstrated on-stage, creators will be able to use the new Persona Device to create characters with personalities that players can talk to. You can select the type of voice and delivery you want for your NPC, as well as their characteristics.
“We’re taking what we learned from Darth Vader and sharing the underlying technology with the creator community,” Epic said.
Meanwhile, well-known IP is coming to UEFN, including Squid Game on June 27, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and official Star Wars features, templates, and assets. Lego brick-by-brick building is also coming to UEFN on June 17, as well as the new LEGO Bloom Tycoon template.
Elsewhere at State of Unreal 2025, Epic and CD Projekt revealed a stunning The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 tech demo.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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