Following the introduction of AI Darth Vader in Fortnite, Epic Games has revealed plans to empower players to create custom AI-powered NPCs within the battle royale game.
The AI version of Darth Vader launched last month with groundbreaking capabilities. The digital Sith Lord can sing, dynamically join and leave squads, engage in contextual conversations, generate spontaneous dialogue, recap gameplay moments, and warn players about impending threats.
This revolutionary NPC features the iconic voice of James Earl Jones, who passed away in September 2024 at age 93. Developed using Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs' Flash v2.5 technology, the AI voice implementation was created with the permission of Jones' estate.
Shortly after launch, creative players managed to prompt the digital Vader to utter inappropriate Dark Side-esque language, prompting Epic to quickly implement filters.
During State of Unreal 2025, Epic showcased upcoming tools in Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) that will enable creators to develop their own AI-driven NPCs. The demonstration featured the new Persona Device, which allows customization of character personalities, voice types, speech patterns, and behavioral traits.
"We're leveraging insights from the Darth Vader project to democratize this technology for our creative community," an Epic representative stated.
UEFN will soon welcome major licensed properties including Squid Game (arriving June 27), Avatar: The Last Airbender, and official Star Wars content. Additionally, LEGO brick-building functionality launches June 17 alongside the new LEGO Bloom Tycoon template.
The State of Unreal event also featured an impressive Unreal Engine 5 technical demo for The Witcher 4, developed in collaboration with CD Projekt.
