Fortnite Sidekicks publishing opens July 23 for UEFN creators

Epic says Fortnite Sidekicks are now available as scriptable NPCs in Unreal Editor for Fortnite, letting creators customize appearance, script behavior with Verse, and animate them. Epic also says creators can publish islands using Sidekicks starting July 23, 2026. Build Worlds, Build Bonds: Fortnite Sidekicks Now Available as NPCs for Your Islands

The company says these islands will be eligible for a new creature-based Collection page and additional Discover featuring through Epic’s Picks and a Callout. That makes the feature more than a character update; it is also a distribution push for a new genre lane. Build Worlds, Build Bonds: Fortnite Sidekicks Now Available as NPCs for Your Islands

What creators can do

Epic says Sidekicks can support games such as monster battlers, cozy farming games, creature-collection RPGs, and companion adventures. The post also says creators can bring a player’s own Sidekick into their island, which could help tie a player’s owned companion to custom gameplay. Build Worlds, Build Bonds: Fortnite Sidekicks Now Available as NPCs for Your Islands

• UEFN feature: scriptable Sidekick NPCs
• Publishing date: July 23, 2026
• Discover support: creature Collection page + Epic’s Picks
• Use cases: monster battlers, farming games, RPGs, companion adventures