Fortnite developers can now create AI characters that players can actually talk to

Epic Games is changing how players interact with characters in Fortnite. The company has released an experimental feature for the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) called "Conversations," originally teased as the Persona device. Unlike traditional dialogue trees, Conversations uses real-time NPC conversations via your own microphone.

If it sounds familiar, it should. The technology is the same as that used in the AI-driven Darth Vader tech demo that led SAG-AFTRA to file an unfair labor practice charge against Epic. This time, the company is putting it in developers' hands to build AI-powered NPCs that players can actually talk to.

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The tool runs on Google's Gemini 1.5 Flash-Lite model, which acts as the brain for these characters, handling audio input, text generation, and NPC reactions. ElevenLabs then converts that text output into spoken dialogue. For creators, the setup is surprisingly straightforward, requiring as few as 20 lines of basic prompt text to define a character's personality, knowledge base, and tone of voice.

These NPCs are not just fancy chatbots either. They can remember things you have done during a play session and make decisions that tie directly to gameplay. A guard NPC could be persuaded to let you into a restricted area. They can trigger in-game events, adjust difficulty based on how you are performing, or act as adaptive narrators and commentators.

But do not expect to interact with developer-made AI characters just yet, though. Epic is keeping Conversations under an experimental label, meaning creators cannot publish experiences with AI characters until it enters beta. According to an exchange between Epic spokesperson Jake Jones and The Verge, there is "no timeline to share" for when that will happen.

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On the safety side, Epic has added guardrails on top of the standard Gemini models. A new clause strictly bans creators from building NPCs that give out medical or mental health advice. Romantic NPCs or any persona designed to bypass content restrictions are also entirely off the table. Epic has also confirmed it will not store any player audio.

Fortnite jumping into AI characters at a time when studios are deliberately stepping back from generative AI reads like another attempt to keep the momentum going. The push to let players build their own experiences, now potentially with AI characters, comes right after recent layoffs and a downturn in engagement, with analysts saying the battle-royale is in the "middle of collapse."

For those who want to experiment, Conversations is now available in the UEFN, with extensive documentation to help creators get started.