Fortnite's Walking Dead Game: A New Era for Game Development

The gaming industry has faced significant challenges in recent times, with layoffs, studio closures, and funding issues creating a turbulent environment. Enrique Fuentes, CEO and co-founder of Teravision Games, felt this turbulence keenly when his team launched Killer Klowns From Outer Space, an asymmetrical horror game inspired by the 80s movie. Despite receiving positive reviews, including a 7 from IGN which praised its entertainment value akin to its cinematic counterpart, and garnering hundreds of thousands of views on trailers, Teravision found itself struggling post-launch, mirroring the broader industry's difficulties.

"2024 was a challenging year for the entire industry, making it tough for us to secure our next project," Fuentes explains. Despite collaborations with major names like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Xbox, Teravision struggled to find a follow-up project after Killer Klowns. With time pressing, the studio, staffed with developers boasting two decades of industry experience, turned to an innovative approach: developing games within Fortnite. In less than a year, Teravision launched three Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN) games, with their fourth game, Courtyard King, launching today. This new game leverages the official The Walking Dead content pack in UEFN.

In partnership with Skybound, co-founded by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Courtyard King is a multiplayer PvPvE game with a King of the Hill twist. Players battle each other and NPC zombies for control of the prison setting from The Walking Dead. The game uses official assets from UEFN, featuring characters like Rick Grimes, Negan, and Daryl Dixon, and even involves Skybound's writers in crafting the game's narrative and dialogue.

"Instead of multi-year projects like Killer Klowns From Outer Space, we can now complete projects in weeks or months," Fuentes notes. Teravision's venture into UEFN was initially an experiment, but it opened doors to work with prominent companies like Skybound. "UGC (user-generated content) is one of the biggest trends in gaming right now," Fuentes adds, highlighting how platforms like Fortnite and Roblox have popularized this approach. While UGC typically refers to content created by players, professional studios like Teravision are now exploring this avenue, utilizing Fortnite's Unreal Engine 5 tools to create innovative games.

"It made sense for us, given our engineering background, to experiment in a platform where we could manage risks," Fuentes explains. This approach led to the creation of Havoc Hotel, a roguelike shooter within Fortnite, which became a modest success and paved the way for Havoc Hotel 3, now one of Fortnite's most popular games.

Teravision's game designer, Martin Rodriguez, notes that transitioning from Killer Klowns in Unreal Engine to UEFN was seamless for the experienced team. "The streamlined systems and 'drag and drop' processes in UEFN allowed us to focus on creating better games and exploring new creative ideas," Rodriguez says.

However, adapting to UEFN presented unique challenges for the game design team. Teravision's creative director, LD Zambrano, observed that UEFN games differ significantly from traditional games. "In traditional games, players engage through clear objectives that foster cooperation and competition. In UEFN, we found that popular experiences often revolve around unique situations and interactions that don't necessarily translate into clear competition but still engage players," Zambrano explains. He likens UEFN games to playground games, where players spontaneously create rules and enjoy the social interaction.

One distinctive feature of Courtyard King is its infinite gameplay, where matches continue indefinitely, allowing players to join and leave at will, even switching teams, which can lead to dynamic betrayals reminiscent of The Walking Dead.

For game developers, this approach offers a promising future. While it positions them within the ecosystems of larger platforms like Epic Games or Roblox, it also provides a way to experiment without exhausting resources, while tapping into large audiences and utilizing big IP assets. "This model allows us to manage risks as an indie developer. Last year, we couldn't even consider a three-year project. Now, we can create something in weeks with a smaller team," Fuentes says. "This is a viable model for supporting an 80-person studio like ours. With the right ideas and creativity, execution can be swift, turning dreams into reality for indie developers."