Unreal Editor for Fortnite’s AI character creation tool has ambitions beyond Darth Vader

Epic Games took a big step with conversational AI when it added a new version of Darth Vader in Fortnite that could speak with players. But later this year, any creator using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) will be able to make their own AI-powered characters with the same underlying technology behind Vader.

During the 2025 State of Unreal keynote, Epic revealed that a new tool in UEFN called the Persona Device will allow anyone to create non-playable characters (NPCs) with AI-driven personalities. The company showed this in action with an internal demo where the player has to talk to a robot named Mr. Buttons. Epic Games executive vice president Saxs Persson said this was meant to show how the Persona Device can “enable emergent, reactive gameplay for creators and deeper experiences for players.”

Within the demo’s Verse code (the programming language used in UEFN), the AI prompt that ...