How Epic Games became fashion’s unlikeliest bedfellow

This article on Epic Games is part of our Vogue Business membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to our weekly Technology Edit, which contains Member-only reporting and analysis and our NFT Tracker, sign up for membership here. Epic Games is best known as the maker of Fortnite, a survival game where players battle to the death or — when not competing to survive — just hang out. It’s where many Gen Z attended their first concert; a now-famous performance by rapper Travis Scott in 2020 attracted 45 million concurrent views. They also go to spend money. That same year, 70 per cent of players said they’d bought special outfits and characters — for no in-game benefit other than looking cool. Soon after, Balenciaga and Moncler made digital fashion available to Fortnite’s approximately 500 million registered accounts. But, the crowded world of video games is no longer just about playing games. Platforms want to be ubiquitous metaversal social destinations. Attention spans don’t last indefinitely, as players migrate to new content. Epic sees an opportunity to not only be the venue, but to sell its tech to other developers — and it sees fashion as a prime buyer. The company’s value to fashion isn’t in Fortnite, but rather Fortnite’s underlying tech, which can create the types of visually stunning 3D spaces, products and people that brands crave. A big part of that is Unreal Engine, the gaming design tool responsible for Fortnite’s desirable graphics. However, as fashion reconsiders its own role in and relationship to the metaverse — and customer interest wanes — will Epic’s plan work? “It’s undeniable that when it comes to game aesthetics, which is an important consideration for brands activating in the game, Fortnite is one of the best,” says Charles Hambro, founder and CEO of gaming intelligence platform Geeiq, which also advises brands on gaming and metaverse strategy. But, while Fortnite has key components for success, including an established player base, platform, developer community and economy, it has a smaller player base and developer community than other platforms competing for brand attention, Hambro adds. And, since Fortnite isn’t on the App Store, it misses the mobile gaming audience. This is in addition to the challenge facing any popular game: keeping players’ attention. Epic’s long-term strategy looks beyond Fortnite as a result. It has already scored some big partnerships that suggest that fashion sees value beyond momentary appearances. Earlier this month, Ralph Lauren expanded its Fortnite presence with a dedicated island. Earlier this summer, the company has attracted long-term deals with behemoths including Nike and LVMH, among others. In June, Nike — which is building its own Web3 platform .Swoosh — expanded its ongoing Epic Games partnership starting with a one-week pop-up in Fortnite that departed from Fortnite’s standard gameplay; in place of fighting with weapons, the challenge was to hunt for historic Nike Air Max sneakers. LVMH, parent company of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany & Co., also announced in June that it was embarking on a long-term partnership to use Epic’s 3D creation tools on projects including virtual fitting rooms, fashions shows, 360° product carousels, augmented reality and digital twins; the announcement didn’t mention plans for Fortnite, but rather ad campaigns and websites. “We will also engage more effectively with young generations who are very much at ease with these codes and uses,” said Toni Belloni, LVMH group managing director. “The tools and skills offered by Epic Games provide LVMH with the means to further embrace technology-driven innovation, give customers unique and interactive experiences and adopt more sustainable production practices by leveraging virtual product creation and digital prototyping,” says Franck Le Moal, group IT and technology director at LVMH. “As the fashion industry continues to evolve, these capabilities will play an important role in shaping its future.” An allegiance between the fashion industry and Epic Games is mutually beneficial: fashion gets practice creating, animating and selling versatile digital assets, while Epic gets new content and revenue outside of selling in-game assets. “It’s changed the way we think about design philosophically,” says David Lauren, chief branding and innovation officer at Ralph Lauren, of building out the brand’s recent Fortnite experience. “There is no doubt that gaming is changing the way we think about everything, whether you go there to game or do something else… The way you connect will be completely different. This is setting the ground for new ways of thinking.” Gaming platforms across the board have seen an increase in brand presence, according to data from Geeiq. Roblox is in the lead, and brand activity in Fortnite saw a lull between 2021 and 2022. More recently, Fortnite has been increasing its share of the pie. Epic Games is not publicly traded and does not regularly report its revenue or user numbers; in 2020, it earned $5.1 billion in revenue; Roblox reported $2.2 billion in revenue in 2022 (up from just less than $1 billion in 2020). Fortnite has 70 million active monthly users, while Roblox has an estimated 250 million. In terms of social media audience, as measured by Geeiq, Fortnite counts 80 million total followers compared to Roblox’s 44 million. To stand out, Fortnite has been consistently evolving since its inception to be more than just a “battle royale game”, Hambro says. It’s not the only one with this idea; a litany of platforms are expanding or pivoting in hopes of being the dominant metaverse platform for brands. This includes social media platforms, including Meta and Snapchat; gaming platforms Roblox and Zepeto; newer platforms the Sandbox and Decentraland; and those known for shopping-centric tools, such as Obsess and Emperia. Brands must constantly evaluate where to spend and to build; if a provider promises to make this process more efficient — meaning, for example, the ability for 3D assets to be used in multiple arenas — that is a valuable selling point. “The opportunity for fashion brands working with Epic extends well beyond Fortnite,” says Nate Nanzer, VP of global partnerships at Epic Games. Gaming has proved to be an unexpectedly rewarding realm for luxury fashion — and as brands consider their next steps in the metaverse, Epic Games is banking on brands wanting to be digital creators themselves. Incentivising brands to build in Fortnite Most brands initially come to Epic Games because they are interested in Fortnite. More than half of its (mostly male) audience are aged between 25 and 34, which is older than the gaming audience average, and they have a higher-than-average income and a higher-than-average interest in fashion and apparel, compared to other gaming platforms, according to Geeiq data. Its graphics, however, are one of the biggest draws. Epic’s gaming engine, Unreal Engine, can be used to create content both within and outside of Fortnite; Fortnite is a convenient on-ramp. To encourage more valuable content within Fortnite — which keeps players spending more time and money — the company has added free tools that allows creators to build within Fortnite, starting with Fortnite Creative in 2018, made for separate destinations within Fortnite. Independent creators can’t create and sell their own fashion on Fortnite; Fortnite makes money from selling skins, accessories and characters within its Item Shop. Skins sold by brand partners like Balenciaga or Moncler are created by Fortnite. Epic declined to share how — or if — revenue is shared. Fortnite wants more creators and brands to build; that’s especially true for fashion, an industry ripe with storytelling and valuable intellectual property and heritage. In March, it announced a series of updates that fast-tracked the quality and diversity of content within Fortnite. “Creator Economy 2.0” is a plan to give 40 per cent of Fortnite’s net revenue to creators, awarded based on details such as island popularity, engagement, retention and attracting new players. Fortnite generates “billions” of dollars of revenue per year from marketplace sales, according to the company, and, in the four months since announcing Creator 2.0, it has given away “tens of millions of dollars”. Even more compelling for brands, it announced Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), which enables brands to build entirely customised, unique “islands” within Fortnite that divest from Fortnite’s existing look and feel, while maintaining the rich fidelity that has become its signature. Nike’s Airphoria and Ralph Lauren’s “Race to Greatness by Polo Ralph Lauren” were built using the new editor (see image gallery at bottom). More than 40 per cent of Fortnite playtime is already spent outside of Battle Royale and in experiences created outside creators, “so it’s safe to say that Fortnite’s evolution into an ecosystem is well underway”, Nanzer says, calling it an “expansive destination” for “social entertainment experiences”. Incentivising brands to create new content trains them to use Epic’s tools, in the hopes that they go on to use them beyond Fortnite. While these tools are free, brands can pay to upgrade to additional “enterprise” tiers that include guidance and trending from Epic. LVMH VP of digital innovation Nelly Mensah says that the company is particularly looking forward to taking advantage of Epic’s learning catalogue and its network of instructors “to empower our maisons and expand their skillsets”. While many teams within the group already have expertise in this area, the hope is that this partnership will further help the creativity of its maisons “translate into the realm of real-time 3D”. Ralph Lauren’s David Lauren says that experience expanded the team’s creative thinking and skillset. “Already, we're on to new designs for shopping online — and this Unreal experience gave us 20 new ideas of ways to see it,” he says. He adds that while trying new technologies generally tends to be complicated, Epic’s platform and technology “created a common language that we could all understand”. LVMH has used Epic’s technology for a range of projects. Last year, it unveiled a metaverse experience for Bulgari called ‘Virtual Rome’ and introduced Livi, a virtual ambassador created to be the face of innovation for the group. This year, Louis Vuitton presented a six-minute interactive ‘Digital Show Experience’ (pictured at top) that highlighted the Autumn/Winter 2023 Men’s show via a virtual journey through the seven rooms inside the fashion show’s décor. Future plans include transforming physical and digital product creation, LVMH’s Le Moal says. Unreal Engine and Meta Human “are well-suited for creating high fidelity digital goods and virtual environments, which perfectly aligns with the group’s enduring commitment to combine excellence in craftsmanship and innovation”. He notes that instead of replacing traditional handcraft, the goal is to add 3D conception, 3D design and 3D assets at early stages of product development. “Gamingplay” is shifting While the definition of gaming is shifting and the capabilities are becoming more diverse, the nature of brand metaverse experiences is shifting too. Now, in addition to selling consumers digital fashion — as a Balenciaga partnership did in 2021 — they are educating them on the heritage of the brand, incentivising them to desire and acquire the brand’s physical and digital products and inviting them to return frequently to socialise. Both Ralph Lauren’s and Nike’s islands were open for a limited time and included designs from the brand’s heritage. Airphoria is the first time that Nike has launched an immersive experience of this scale and size, says Ron Faris, VP and GM of Nike Virtual Studios. Nike did open a branded Nikeland experience on Roblox in November 2021, but this was before Nike Virtual Studios was established. Both of the experiences unlocked free digital shoes in exchange for completing challenges; the Fortnite experience also sold digital Nike and invited players to connect their “.Swoosh” accounts to their Epic accounts to gain first access to a future virtual collection, which will be sold on the .Swoosh platform. This last point — to create an owned communication channel with players — is partly why Hambro considers the Nike experience to be a “huge success”. Airphoria is positioned as an entry point into creating the future of sport in digital realms as the brand “delivers deeper storytelling through gaming and virtual products and experiences”, Faris says. He hints that the next phase for Nike will focus on expression and co-creation within its own .Swoosh platform using Epic’s tools. The long-term play for Epic Games is its ability to help fashion transition to 3D design, which is a way to decrease waste and increase speed of designing and selling. While 3D design enables products and experiences that defy time and space, the biggest hurdle might be navigating just how far to experiment with the unknown. For now, look for clues in Fortnite. Correction: Fortnite's Creator 2.0 fund has given away tens of millions of dollars, not tens of billions as previously reported. (8 August 2023) To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More on this topic: Nike takes gaming to next level with metaverse space in Fortnite Ralph Lauren goes bigger on Fortnite with island and phygital boots Fashion’s virtual worlds will blend, says Epic Games’s Houghton

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