Epic Games Announces New Filmmaking Contest For 'Fortnite' Players

Developer Epic Games has announced a new contest challenging “Fortnite” battle royale players to get more creative. The “Fortnite” blockbuster contest will require participants to create a superhero short film from actual gameplay.

“Every hero needs a story and we invite you to show us yours. Put your filmmaking skills to the test to write and direct the ultimate Season 4 superhero flick,” Epic Games said in a blog post. “Use the ‘Fortnite’ replay system and a little in-game movie set magic to make a blockbuster hit highlighting the heroes of Season 4 and their adventures.”

One winner will be chosen and the winning film will be shown on Risky Reels, the drive-in theater that’s located in the northeast area of the “Fortnite” battle royale map. The grand prize winner will also be rewarded 25,000 V-Bucks in-game currency. Epic Games will also create a poster dedicated to the winning film and the title of the film will be displayed on the marquee at Risky Reels. The developer will also be rewarding 10,000 V-Bucks to five other finalists.

The rules to enter the contest are pretty simple. Contestants can only include personal gameplay in their short film, which must only be 1 minute to 5 minutes in length. Contestants must also use royalty free music and Epic Games suggests using YouTube’s royalty free audio library. The contest will run until July 11 at 11:59pm ET, so entries must be submitted before then.

Contestants must upload their “Fortnite” short films on YouTube and they must be publicly searchable and visible. The title of the film must also include #FortniteBlockbuster. The short film’s YouTube link must also be sent to contestsubmissions@epicgames.com with the hashtag as the subject line. Users must also include their full name and Epic ID in the email, so Epic Games will be able to give the V-Bucks rewards if they are chosen as winners. Epic Games will announce the winners on July 24.

Season 5 of “Fortnite” is rumored to start on July 12 and this contest feels like a continuation of Season 4’s dancing challenge, as pointed out by Engadget. Rumors about Season 5 have been rampant ever since Epic launched the rocket from the Evil Lair. The rocket has already created what appears to be a rupture in time and space over the battle royale map. Warp portals have also appeared mysteriously in Lonely Lodge and at the motel near Anarchy Acres.

In other “Fortnite” news, Epic Games has finally brought its Playground LTM mode back online after it was taken down last week. The developer has also added a new gun to battle royale called the Drum Gun, which is the “Fortnite” version of the Thompson submachine gun.