Fortnite is getting a bunch of AI-powered ‘personas’

Jay Peters is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Get ready for more AI characters in Fortnite. Developer Epic Games is going to let Fortnite creators publish experiences featuring characters with AI-powered voices starting on July 30th, and ahead of that launch, it’s created 36 characters with “consistent voices and personas” that creators can use as NPCs. The characters include Fortnite staples like Agent Jonesy, Peely (the banana), Fishstick (a walking fish), and Cuddle Team Leader (who wears a pink bear mascot head).

Epic tested the waters of AI characters with last year’s Darth Vader NPC that was powered by James Earl Jones’ voice — a collaboration that Jones’ estate signed off on. Even though players quickly got Vader to swear, something Epic fixed quickly, the company announced shortly after debuting...

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