Fortnite to Get AI-Powered Characters with Unique Voices

Epic Games has announced that Fortnite creators will be able to publish experiences featuring characters with AI-powered voices starting July 30. Ahead of the launch, the company has created 36 characters with "consistent voices and personas" that creators can use as non-player characters (NPCs). The lineup includes Fortnite staples like Agent Jonesy, Peely (the banana), Fishstick (a walking fish), and Cuddle Team Leader (a pink bear mascot).

Epic tested AI characters last year with Darth Vader, voiced by James Earl Jones in a collaboration approved by the actor's estate. Although players quickly got Vader to swear—a bug Epic promptly fixed—the company announced soon after that creators would be able to make their own AI-powered characters.

The voices for the new personas rely on "performances captured from independent professional actors specifically for use in developer-made islands," Epic stated. "The actors agreed to have their performances used to develop voice models that create the spoken responses for these LLM-powered Fortnite characters."

Looking ahead, Epic wants to enable characters voiced by well-known actors who have previously appeared in the Fortnite universe, but will need to secure proper approvals. "Our next step is to work with the relevant guilds and character voice actors who have previously worked on Fortnite Battle Royale to explore opportunities to make their original voices available across the Fortnite ecosystem," the company said.

Epic began letting creators test their own AI characters earlier this year, but laid out several ground rules to prevent problematic behavior.