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Disney and Epic expand Fortnite creator access to The Simpsons via an IP Partner toolkit
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Business/The Apex Times/Jun 17, 12:43 PM EDT

Disney and Epic expand Fortnite creator access to The Simpsons via an IP Partner toolkit

The Walt Disney Company says The Simpsons IP Toolkit is joining Epic Games’ IP Partner Program later this year, giving Unreal Editor for Fortnite developers assets and character libraries to build Simpsons-themed experiences inside the game.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

Disney and Epic Games are bringing The Simpsons to Fortnite creators later this year, in the latest push to let outside developers build content using major entertainment franchises.

At Unreal Fest in Chicago, Ray Gresko, Disney Digital Entertainment’s senior vice president and head of product and development, announced that The Simpsons will join the IP Partner Program. The program is designed to provide creator communities with official franchise materials and tools so they can produce branded games and experiences within Fortnite.

Disney says the official toolkit will arrive later this year, and that it will include an Unreal Editor for Fortnite-ready library of iconic characters, locations, and assets drawn from the long-running series. Developers who sign up for the program would then be able to use those materials to create Simpsons-themed games inside Fortnite’s ecosystem.

The announcement points to momentum Disney and Epic have already seen from the program’s earlier franchise rollout. Disney’s release notes that the Star Wars IP toolkit helped drive a fast surge of community-built activity after its launch, with nearly 8 million players entering custom Star Wars islands within 72 hours.

Disney also cited early engagement snapshots from the Star Wars content wave, including 6.53 million total plays for Galactic Siege in its first six days, 3.37 million plays for Escape Vader over the same period, and Droid Tycoon becoming the second most-played experience in Fortnite in the week it launched.

While the new toolkit is aimed at developers, Disney tied its decision to the reach of The Simpsons inside Fortnite and on its own streaming platform. The company said that more than 80 million players spent 780 million hours in the Fortnite | The Simpsons season last fall.

Disney added that the crossover extended beyond gaming. It said the accompanying animated short that helped set the narrative for the crossover reached No. 1 on Disney+ Top 10 Today in the United States, using that performance as evidence that major intellectual property can travel across different screens and formats.

The company positioned the move as part of a broader strategy, with the IP Partner Program serving as a bridge between Disney’s franchises and Epic’s creator tooling. The goal, according to Disney, is to create a shared environment where creators can work with well-known IP while using Epic’s developer platform to bring in new fans and deepen engagement with existing ones.

Disney did not provide a launch date window beyond “later this year,” nor did it specify which developer milestones, geographic eligibility rules, or content limitations will apply. It also did not outline whether the toolkit will cover only new creations or whether it will enable updates to existing Fortnite experiences. Those details will likely become clearer as Epic and Disney publish additional terms and technical documentation.

For Fortnite players and creators, the next thing to watch is how quickly developers begin building Simpsons-themed islands once the toolkit becomes available, and whether the scale of engagement seen in the Star Wars rollout is matched by the community’s early output. The effort also provides a template for how Disney’s franchises could continue to expand inside interactive platforms, where branded worlds are created by thousands of independent teams rather than a single publisher pipeline.

Why It Matters

  • Franchise toolkits can accelerate branded content creation in Fortnite, shifting Disney IP development toward a community-driven model rather than a single studio release cycle.
  • If the Simpsons toolkit drives activity comparable to Star Wars, it could further strengthen Fortnite’s role as an IP discovery and merchandising engine that also feeds streaming attention.
  • The move highlights the competitive center of gravity for digital entertainment, where distribution, creator tools, and intellectual property partnerships increasingly intersect.
  • For developers, an official franchise toolkit reduces licensing friction and provides higher-quality assets, potentially lowering the barrier to producing experiences that feel authentic to established worlds.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Disney said The Simpsons is joining Epic Games’ IP Partner Program for Fortnite developers later this year.
  • The Simpsons IP Toolkit will be built for Unreal Editor for Fortnite, with a library of franchise characters, locations, and assets.
  • Disney’s announcement was made at Unreal Fest in Chicago by Ray Gresko, Disney Digital Entertainment’s senior vice president and head of product and development.
  • Disney cited performance from the earlier Star Wars IP toolkit, including nearly 8 million players entering custom Star Wars islands within 72 hours after launch.
  • Disney said the Fortnite | The Simpsons season last fall drew more than 80 million players and 780 million hours.
  • Disney reported that an animated short accompanying the Fortnite crossover reached No. 1 on Disney+ Top 10 Today in the US.

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Disney and Epic expand Fortnite creator access to The Simpsons via an IP Partner toolkit | The Apex Times