In a groundbreaking moment at the Unite 2025 keynote in Barcelona, Unity caught the gaming world off guard by inviting Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney to the stage. The surprise announcement revealed an unprecedented partnership between Unity and Epic Games, two giants in the third-party game engine industry, aiming to support open digital platforms.
Unity and Epic Join Forces
During the keynote, Sweeney discussed his conversation with Matthew Bromberg, Unity’s president and CEO, about their shared mission. This collaboration’s first tangible outcome will be the introduction of Unity’s innovative in-app purchase SDK to Unreal Engine developers, providing a seamless solution for managing cross-platform purchases. This development gains significance as Google and Apple begin to open their ecosystems, influenced by Epic’s legal actions.
Fortnite Embraces Unity
Perhaps the most exciting news is that the immensely popular Fortnite ecosystem, boasting 500 million registered accounts, will now integrate games developed in Unity. Sweeney elaborated on the evolution of Fortnite from a simple Battle Royale to a thriving ecosystem where third-party content flourishes. Starting next year, Unity developers can publish their games directly into Fortnite, leveraging Unity’s network technology to connect with other engines. This integration will allow Unity games to appear alongside Unreal Engine creations in Fortnite’s discovery system, enabling developers to participate in the evolving Fortnite economy, ultimately moving towards an open metaverse.
Fortnite’s Expanding Features
In related news, Fortnite has recently enabled Island Creators to sell items within their Islands, offering random rewards similar to lootboxes, further expanding the game’s economic landscape.