Fortnite’s AI-powered Darth Vader shenanigans were just a test; Epic Games will soon allow Fortnite creators to craft their own chatbot-esque NPC for the battle royale game.
The gaming company announced the forthcoming feature called the Persona Device on Tuesday at its State of Unreal 2025 event. Epic Games explained that the new feature will be available through the Unreal Editor for Fortnite, giving players the power to equip their NPCs with voice prompts, knowledge, goals, personalities, and more when the new feature arrives “later this year.”
Andrew Grant, vice president of the creator platform, and game designer Andrew Ruffini demonstrated the Persona Device in a live UEFN Fortnite tech demo, where they programmed a snarky and demanding AI-powered NPC named Mr. Buttons. “We’re taking what we learned from Darth Vader and sharing the underlying technology with the creator community,” Epic said during the presentation.
As Mr. Buttons attempted to get the player to press a button, the Epic Games brass conversed with the artificial intelligence, demonstrating the AI’s wide range of emotions and reactions possible through the tech.
Epic Games first unleashed AI Darth Vader in May, powered by a digitally altered voice from the late James Earl Jones. And while the bot’s purpose, personality, and language were intended to match Vader’s legacy, the programming’s objective was quickly undermined.
Naturally, the feature garnered criticism as players tricked the AI into swearing, for which Epic was forced to roll out a hotfix. Then, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) came after the company, as the group has been working to protect its members’ legacies and work amid the rise of AI. SAG-AFTRA subsequently filed an unfair labor practice grievance for the new feature.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Epic Games rolls out the Persona Device and puts more AI power into the players’ hands. And, with how the Darth Vader situation transpired, there is bound to be even more AI-powered controversy.
Check out the full State of Unreal livestream below.
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