AI Darth Vader Was the Beginning: Epic Reveals Plans to Let People Create Their Own AI NPCs in Fortnite

After introducing AI Darth Vader to Fortnite, Epic Games has announced plans to allow players to create their own AI-driven NPCs within the expansive battle royale experience.

The iconic Sith Lord arrived in Fortnite last month, offering interactive features such as serenading players, joining or leaving squads on demand, responding intelligently to user input, generating spontaneous dialogue, summarizing gameplay events, and issuing warnings when danger is imminent.

Darth Vader’s voice is provided by the legendary James Earl Jones, who passed away in September 2024 at the age of 93. This AI-generated version utilizes Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model combined with ElevenLabs' Flash v2.5 technology and was created with permission from the Jones family.

AI Darth Vader was just the beginning. Image credit: Epic Games.Within an hour of its launch, Fortnite players managed to coax Vader into uttering phrases typical of the Dark Side, including profanity. Epic quickly patched this behavior out.

It appears that AI Darth Vader is merely the starting point. During State of Unreal 2025, Epic showcased new tools for creators to design their own AI-powered NPCs using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). As demonstrated live, creators can utilize the new Persona Device to develop characters with distinct personalities that players can interact with verbally. Users can customize voice types, delivery styles, and specific character traits for their NPCs.

“We’re taking what we learned from Darth Vader and sharing the underlying technology with the creator community,” Epic stated.

Also highlighted at State of Unreal 2025 was a stunning tech demo for The Witcher 4 built with Unreal Engine 5, developed jointly by Epic and CD Projekt.