The Robloxification of Fortnite - Redux
Letter to a Gamer is now in its fourth issue and, as its opening story, it expands on the theme of Fortnite's slow transformation into Roblox, which we began discussing in the last issue. As I do every week, I renew my thanks to my subscribers, whose contributions allow me to continue this project. By economically supporting the newsletter, you will not only have access to the full version (with the Jump Space review, tips of the week, and an editorial on Marathon), but you will also support my independent journalism, which will remain ad-free, sponsor-free, and AI-free.
News index
+ The Robloxification of Fortnite
- What the hell is Blippo+
+ Palworld 1.0 arrives in 2026
- Black Flag remake cuts the Animus
The version of Steal a Brainrot within Fortnite has reached the unthinkable milestone of 542,000 concurrent players, 45,000 fewer than Silksong's peak on Steam. These insane numbers aren't even achieved by an Epic-produced experience like the famous Travis Scott or Ariana Grande concerts, but by a "game" created by users and popularized through word of mouth.
The tool that made this revolution possible is called UEFN (Unreal Engine Editor for Fortnite), a full-fledged developer toolkit for creating entire video games using Fortnite's millions of assets. The Ministry of Tourism of one of Italy's regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), for example, has just launched its own in-game experience within this ecosystem to promote its most iconic cities and locations.
Soon, creators of UEFN experiences will be able to start featuring cosmetics within their worlds that users can purchase with V-Bucks (Fortnite's dollar-equivalent currency), receiving a portion of the earnings in real money. Currently, these experiences are monetized solely through engagement, and only those who generate huge numbers get payed well.
Everything will change when Fortnite's model becomes almost identical to Roblox's: an ecosystem in which users produce most of the content, which remains free to access but will be filled first with cosmetics and later with power-ups, available for real money.
Last year, Epic paid its UEFN creators $352 million: entire development studios are now working on these types of experiences, and their numbers will only multiply after the most recent announcement. Even Epic's CEO boasted about Steal a Brainrot's numbers, saying on Twitter: "These could be the first signs of a future where Creative Mode in the one driving Fortnite."
The battle royale for which the game became famous is receiving less and less promotion, less and less gameplay content (cosmetics continue to arrive in droves, with the studio reportedly halting all ongoing projects to produce K-Pop Demon Hunters skins as quickly as possible), and less and less attention.
The direction is clear, and the consequences are equally so: ever more AI-generated content, ever more pay-to-win mechanics (soon to be monetizable), and a general decline in quality. The problem is that it works: the Fortnite subreddit is full of comments from newcomers who downloaded the game specifically to play Steal a Brainrot.
Epic, at least, has a slightly better reputation than Roblox, so it's possible that children are safer on its platform. Only time will tell if, as player-created experiences multiply, investments in security, oversight, and moderation will keep up the pace, or whether Fortnite itself will become a jungle where swarms of sexual predators can insinuate themselves.
What the hell is Blippo+ - The line between film, television, and video games is becoming increasingly blurred: Blippo+ is a cable-tv simulator where you navigate between TV channels, each with its own show (all shot in studio with real actors) from the planet Blip. Soap operas, sitcoms, news, late-night shows, and even a weather channel are all available to players as they solve a mystery. The aesthetic has curated late '80s/early '90s vibes, and the atmosphere is decidedly underground.
Palworld 1.0 arrives in 2026 - Despite the barrage of lawyers, lawsuits, and patents that the big N has unleashed against the developers of Pocketpair, Palworld continues its development and has announced that version 1.0 will be released in early 2026. Not content with that, they've just announced Palworld: Palfarm, a management sim that looks incredibly similar to Pokopia, the new Pokémon title in which players take on the role of a Ditto transformed into a human to manage a farm. This is (as the company itself reiterated in a tweet) one of the most ironic coincidences of recent months, because it's clear that Pocket Pair didn't develop the game in the week between The Pokemon Company's announcement and its own. This simply means the developer has a knack for sniffing out upcoming trends.
Black Flag Cuts the Animus - According to a rumor now confirmed by several internal Ubisoft sources, a remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag is in the works at the French development studio. Another, much more recent rumor, however, has irked fans because Ubisoft has reportedly cut all parts that take place outside of the Animus. I have to admit, they weren't the best because the game was the first without Desmond, but if you have to make a remake (the success of Metal Gear Solid Delta and the anger surrounding Final Fantasy VII Rebirth prove it) it's imperative to do it the same as the original, without changing the story and without cutting parts (even those that were underdeveloped or superfluous) of the original.
This is just a taste of everything Letter to a Gamer has to offer. The full version of the newsletter (with tips, discounts, reviews, and insights) costs just one euro a week: click here to subscribe! It's only thanks to those who help me pay the bills that this project can continue to exist. Letter to a Gamer is also live on Twitch Monday through Thursday from 3 to 5 PM CEST to play this week's game in review, try the demos, and chat. I'll see you there! If you love Letter to a Gamer and want to help out, you can share this link with your friends and gaming buddies and follow the newsletter's social media channels (Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok).
See you at the next letter,
Riccardo "Tropic" Lichene