Fortnite Sidekicks become scriptable NPCs with July 23 publishing

Epic’s June 5 Fortnite post says Fortnite Sidekicks are now available as scriptable NPCs in Unreal Editor for Fortnite, expanding the kinds of creature-based islands creators can build.

What changes for creators

• Creators can customize how Sidekicks look.
• Creators can script Sidekick behavior with Verse.
• Creators can animate Sidekicks.
• Epic says players can bring their own Sidekick into an experience.
• Publishing for Sidekick islands starts July 23.

Epic also says those islands will be eligible for a new creature-based Collection page, plus additional Discover featuring through Epic’s Picks and a Callout. That suggests the company is pairing the feature launch with a distribution push. (fortnite.com)

For publishers watching IslandAtlas metrics, this is a notable content-category expansion rather than a balance patch: it creates a new island type centered on companions, creatures, and scripted behavior. (fortnite.com)

The announcement came alongside other June ecosystem activity, but the Sidekicks feature stands out because it directly changes what creators can author, test, and publish in UEFN. (fortnite.com)