Game Developer's Walking Dead Game in Fortnite: A New Frontier for Studios

The games industry has been facing significant challenges, with layoffs, studio closures, and funding issues becoming all too common. Enrique Fuentes, CEO and co-founder of Teravision Games, felt the impact firsthand after launching their asymmetrical horror game, *Killer Klowns From Outer Space*, inspired by the iconic 80s film. Despite receiving positive feedback, including a 7/10 from IGN, which praised it as "as silly and entertaining as the movie that spawned it," and garnering hundreds of thousands of views on trailers, Teravision struggled post-launch. "As you know, 2024 was a pretty tough year for the whole industry. So it was a little bit slow for us to close our next project," Fuentes remarked. Despite their collaborations with major companies like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Xbox, finding a follow-up project proved challenging.

In response to these difficulties, Teravision turned to a novel approach: developing games within Fortnite using Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN). This shift allowed them to release three UEFN games within a year, with their fourth game, *Courtyard King*, launching today. This King of the Hill-style multiplayer PvPvE game, set in *The Walking Dead*'s infamous prison location, was created in partnership with Skybound, co-founded by Robert Kirkman, the creator of *The Walking Dead*. *Courtyard King* utilizes official UEFN assets, including character models of Rick Grimes, Negan, and Daryl Dixon, and incorporates story and dialogue crafted by Skybound's writers.

"Instead of a multi-year project like *Killer Klowns From Outer Space*, these are projects that we could put together in weeks or months," Fuentes explained. Teravision's move into user-generated content (UGC) aligns with a significant trend in gaming, particularly through platforms like Fortnite and Roblox. While UGC typically refers to content created by end users, professional studios like Teravision are now leveraging these tools. "It made sense because we come from an engineering background and it was a platform where we could experiment in and assume some of the risk," Fuentes added.

Their experiments led to the creation of *Havoc Hotel*, a roguelike shooter that became a modest hit, culminating in *Havoc Hotel 3*, which now ranks among Fortnite's most popular games. Teravision's game designer, Martin Rodriguez, noted that transitioning from Unreal Engine to UEFN was seamless for their experienced team. "For us, it just removes some of the work that we would’ve done otherwise and allows us to focus on just making better games and explore different new creative ideas," Rodriguez stated.

However, the game design team faced unique challenges with UEFN. Teravision's creative director, LD Zambrano, highlighted that UEFN games differ from traditional games. "A traditional experience we have had designing other [non-UEFN] games is where players relate through objectives that entice cooperation and competition, right?" Zambrano said. "In [UEFN's] case, we have found that even though those objectives are still relevant and we still can use that game design sensibility and bring them there, I found that there are a lot of experiences that are very popular within the Fortnite ecosystem that are kind of just context."

Zambrano likened UEFN games to the spontaneity of a schoolyard, where players engage in unstructured play that fosters friendships. This approach is reflected in *Courtyard King*, an infinite game with no final winner. Players can join or leave at any time, switch teams, and even engage in betrayals, adding a *Walking Dead*-like twist to the gameplay.

For game developers, this model offers a promising future. While it positions them within the ecosystems of larger platforms like Epic Games or Roblox, it also allows studios to experiment without depleting their resources. "We can actually assume the risk as an indie developer in [UEFN]. Because last year, we couldn’t even think about starting a three-year project. We could do something in a few weeks with a smaller team and that completely changes the paradigm for a new developer," Fuentes emphasized. "This is now a viable model where you can actually support an 80 person studio like we do, and we can assume the risk. It’s something that if you have the right ideas, the right creativity around it, if you understand the market well enough and you have the right thinking, execution becomes possible and it doesn’t take years, it actually takes weeks, maybe months. I think this is a dream come true for indie developers."