Description
What are the top Fortnite creators doing differently in UEFN? Recorded live at Unreal Fest, this episode puts three of the biggest builders in the creator economy on one stage to answer exactly that.
Minutes after State of Unreal wrapped, Chad Mustard (JOGO Studios, aka Mustard Plays), Kevin Marciano (Future Trash, the studio behind FOAD), and Austin Rodriguez (TomJank) sat down in front of a live audience to break down what separates the maps that grow from the ones that stall.
What you will learn in this episode:
- 75 percent of in-island purchases happen in non-shooter experiences, and what that means for your next map
- Why reducing grind beats gating content, and how tycoons quietly became the biggest earners
- The reason combat maps struggle to monetize, and why custom weapons could change that
- Where Discovery is heading, and the honest answer for maps that never get featured
- Gameplay loop first, visuals second: the order top studios refuse to break
Plus rapid fire questions, spicy takes, giveaways, and live Q&A from the Unreal Fest floor.
Guests:
Kevin Marciano, CEO and co-founder of Future Trash (FOAD): https://x.com/kev_marciano
Chad Mustard, COO and co-founder of JOGO Studios (Mustard Plays): https://x.com/MustardPlays
Austin Rodriguez (TomJank): https://x.com/tomjank
Don't hate, create
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Time Stamp:
00:00 Intro
00:26 Why UE6, Scene Graph & Verse are the future
01:14 Welcome to the live Unreal Fest podcast
03:38 Meet the guests (Kevin Marciano, Chad Mustard & TomJank)
04:39 Who's in the audience?
05:12 Biggest State of Unreal announcements
05:44 Why UEFN creators have a huge advantage for UE6
07:13 Simpsons comes to UEFN
08:11 Discovery updates and AI tools
09:11 Is AI helping or hurting game development?
11:04 What we wanted Epic to announce
12:00 From passion project to real business
12:27 Chad Mustard on turning your passion into a career
16:30 Passion vs making games that actually pay the bills
16:56 Embrace the Jank, TomJank's mindset
19:17 Building Droid Tycoon and working with Epic Games
22:06 Rapid Fire Questions
22:08 What creators overthink most
22:57 Gameplay vs visuals
23:27 Discovery hot takes
25:35 Audience trivia & giveaways
30:00 Making money with in island purchases
30:28 Monetization without annoying players
32:21 Why tycoons earn so much
33:08 Making a living as a solo creator
33:59 Building a personal brand that attracts opportunities
37:08 How to build a recognizable studio identity
39:10 Spicy takes
39:36 Bad advice creators should ignore
40:00 Is AI a bubble?
40:26 Will Brainrot survive?
41:12 Audience game idea pitches
42:35 Final advice for creators
43:54 Audience Q&A begins
44:22 What should UE developers learn from UEFN?
45:45 What should UEFN creators learn from Unreal Engine?
46:14 When do you stop supporting a game?
48:47 Marketing a UEFN game
50:36 Closing thoughts
51:05 Final outro