Fortnite’s UE5 update adds web swinging, sliding and more

While Epic Games is now closely associated with the Epic Games Store and Fortnite, the platform holder is in fact responsible for one of the most widely used game engines currently: Unreal Engine. Following the official reveal of UE5 last year, Fortnite is now the first game to officially run on Epic's latest and greatest.

Epic Games aligned the conclusion of Fortnite’s 2nd chapter with the game’s shift over to Unreal Engine 5. The Battle Royale title was always promised to be seeing the transfer to UE5 in 2021 – though it did still take longer than promised.

Fortnite’s v19.00 update is now out and brings with it not only a brand new chapter in the ongoing Fortnite saga, but the aforementioned shift to using Unreal Engine 5. What this means for the game exactly is that visuals have now been improved while also increasing performance – especially on the Switch. Other changes include improved weather effects and destruction, all in all making for a much more dynamic game.

Taking advantage of these, a number of gameplay changes have also launched alongside the latest update. Firstly, sliding is now a feature, allowing players to not only go downhill faster, but can also be used in tactical situations. The other major gameplay addition are web shooters. No doubt a timely release to line-up with the upcoming MCU film, Spider-Man is coming to Fortnite – though his ability to web swing is being made available to all.

The shift to Unreal Engine 5 is a major one, and will likely bring with it many enhancements over the next few years. Even while operating within UE4, Fortnite saw ever-increasing gameplay and graphical improvements. It will be interesting to see just how much extra freedom UE5 allows for.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for UE5? Will you check out Fortnite once again? What do you think will be the second game to run on the engine? Let us know down below.

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