Fortnite’s creator economy just hit a whole new level: a user-made map was sold for millions of real dollars in the first deal of this kind.
Fortnite creators are already making it big. Top creators using UEFN are pulling in tens of thousands of players at a time. Some maps consistently hold 40,000 concurrent players. Across the board, Fortnite now has over 650 million registered accounts and up to 80 million daily players.
And then there’s the money. In 2024 alone, at least seven Fortnite creators earned over 10 million dollars from engagement payouts. Fourteen made over 3 million, and more than 1,700 earned at least 10,000 dollars. The total pool was over 400 million dollars, rivaling Roblox and outpacing Minecraft. This isn’t side hustle cash. It’s real business.
Fortnite map The Pit sold to War Thunder devs for millions
Gavin “Geerzy” Gear, the creator of The Pit, just sold his map to Gaijin Entertainment, the studio behind War Thunder, in a deal worth several million dollars. The exact amount wasn’t disclosed, but multiple sources confirmed it was in the multi-million range.
Geerzy’s map is one of Fortnite’s biggest Creative hits. The Pit is a simple but highly polished PvP arena that reached a peak of around 140,000 concurrent players. Now Gaijin is launching a new studio, EndoWorlds, to take over the map and build out new projects from it.
With a new studio now backing it, The Pit could evolve far beyond its current form. Gaijin has years of experience running massive live service games, and that could mean big upgrades like progression systems, ranked play, cosmetic unlocks, or seasonal content. The move signals that they see more than just a popular map.
This marks the first time a major game publisher has acquired a Fortnite Creative map, showing just how far the platform has come. What started as a user-made battleground is now the foundation of a new studio.
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