Epic decides to allow fan recreations of old Fortnite maps in Creative 2.0

Fortnite developer Epic Games has decided to make a special exemption to its usual rules, and allow creators using the new Creative 2.0 tool — also known as the Unreal Editor for Fortnite — to remake the game’s original maps.

It’s just as well, as the race to recreate the game’s original Chapter 1 map has already begun — and Creative 2.0 only launched on Wednesday. Our guide to the best Creative 2.0 maps features a link to an early version of the Chapter 1, Season 3 map you can download and play right now.

Normally, this would contravene Fortnite’s end user license agreement (EULA), which rules out the creation and publication of any content based on others’ copyrighted material. Of course, that includes Epic’s own Fortnite intellectual property.

But Epic saw the intense fan desire to recreate the battle royale game in its original form coming, and decided to make an exception.

“We are as excited as you to relive the experiences we shared in the original Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 1 map, and so we are granting a special and specific exception to allow creators to publish their own remakes of the Chapter 1 maps (and only the Chapter 1 maps),” Epic said Thursday in a blog post attributed to the Fortnite team. “Like maps built using the ‘Battle Royale Island’ starter island, islands recreating Chapter 1 maps will remain ineligible for monetization. All terms protecting copyrights and intellectual property will continue to be strictly enforced.”

It’s wise of Epic to indulge fan nostalgia in this way; permitting the map remakes costs the company nothing. Meanwhile, Blizzard fought in vain against fans’ “vanilla” World of Warcraft servers for years before giving in to player demand and launching World of Warcraft Classic.

The Unreal Editor is a powerful modding tool that allows developers to create and publish maps and games directly into Fortnite, à la Roblox, and even earn a slice of the game’s revenues for their trouble. It was revealed and launched on Wednesday — which was tough luck for former Grand Theft Auto designer Leslie Benzies, who lifted the lid on his very similar user-generated content game Everywhere on Thursday.