Fortnite is using AI to help make skins and then charging up to £15 for them

How long till Fortnite just starts adding AI generated skins? (Epic Games/YouTube)

Fan responses to an Epic Games video on how it’s using generative AI for helping it make Fortnite skins have been overwhelmingly negative.

Epic Games has not been coy about its support for generative AI. Not when CEO Tim Sweeney has gone on record saying there’s no point in online stores requiring developers to disclose their use of AI when ‘AI will be involved in nearly all future production.’

It also quite blatantly incorporated AI artwork into Fortnite itself, much to some players’ dismay, and in April announced plans for AI powered characters ‘capable of unscripted dialogue and interactions with players.’

Now, the company has proudly demonstrated how it’s using AI as part of its process for creating Fortnite’s highly expensive skins and that’s been too much for many fans.

In a recently published YouTube video, two Epic representatives showcased a behind the scenes look at the company’s art concepting process.

They start things off with a demonstration of designing a new character, in this case a falconer lady. While Epic isn’t going so far as to generate skins wholesale using AI, it is taking hand-drawn sketches and then rendering them in 3D using an in-house AI tool called Gen Media Bridge.

Why they deem that necessary is unclear, since game developers have managed to manually turn 2D drawings into 3D models for years before generative AI became commonplace.

Predictably, despite the example prompt asking the AI to not alter the original design, it adds several extra details, like a skull on the character’s pouch, that have to be manually removed – thereby negating whatever time was being saved by using the AI in the first place.

Epic claims to recognise how contentious the idea of any AI involvement in the artistic process is, which is why it stresses, ‘the creative control remains in the hands of the creator.’

‘He just gets ahead in the timeline so he can focus on honing in on the design and crafting it exactly how he wants it,’ says the video.

This is similar to a defence Crystal Dynamics offered when it admitted to using AI for the upcoming Tomb Raider remake, swearing that ‘Any AI-assisted assets were either replaced or refined by humans in order to maintain the creative and artistic vision of the development team.’

In the case of Fortnite, while the game itself is completely free, Epic does charge for the cosmetic skins. You need to purchase them with the in-game V-Bucks currency, which can be earned for free, but that takes time and you’re encouraged to purchase them with real money instead.

They’re not cheap either, especially after the recent price hike. Skin prices vary but the most expensive ones typically cost 2,000 V-Bucks and a pack of 2,400 V-Bucks costs £17.49 – so a high-end skin costs around £15, depending on how many V-Bucks you purchase at a time.

Epic must feel that AI is useful enough that it can afford to lay off 1,000 employees, back in March, although that had just as much to do with the admission that the game isn’t turning a profit.

Whether Epic is using generative AI as a cost cutting measure or not, the video has gone down like a lead balloon, according to the overwhelmingly negative comments.

‘So how many creatives did you lay off before doing this bit of AI bro propaganda?’ says TheFlyingSailorYT.

‘I like how you specifically asked the AI not to change the character’s design and it ignored you and added a skull to her pouch for no reason at all. What’s the point of using this tech if it will ignore prompts?’ asks bradsmithVR.

‘No one wants AI dogs*** in the game. Hire actual artists and designers. Your company is worth millions. Do better,’ says its-just-babs.

AI might be here to stay for Fortnite (Summer Game Fest/Epic Games)

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