'Fortnite' Creative Mode Gameplay: Release Date Could Murder 'Minecraft'

Fortnite’s Playground mode was just the beginning of the game’s foray into sandbox experiences. Developer Epic Games announced Wednesday that Season 7 is introducing Fortnite: Creative into the mix.

Epic released an announcement video on YouTube Wednesday detailing the new gameplay mode. Fortnite: Creative will launch December 13, and rather than being an add-on to Battle Royale, it feels more like a third game type that’ll exist alongside Save the World.

“In this mode, you can build on your own private island and also design games with friends,” Fortnite community manager Nathan Mooney explains in the video. Footage shows some sort of slippery arena with a bunch of ramps and Chiller traps. “Devise action-packed combat modes,” Mooney suggests, “or shoot your cinematic masterpiece.”

Previously, Playground mode allowed players to enter their own instance of the Battle Royale island and experiment with the environment in a variety of ways, without restrictions like resources or 99 enemy players. But even that required players to build using the same interface as Battle Royale.

Creative feels like so much more.

Anyone who buys the Season 7 Premium Battle Pass gets early access to Fortnite: Creative starting December 6. Mooney admits in the announcement video that things will be “rough” in the beginning, but there’s the promise of a bright future with Fortnite: Creative.

Players can build their own environments from scratch and make all sorts of insane mini games. Or they can craft their own unique cinematic universe. Sure, Minecraft was cool and all, but Fortnite is about to do the video game sandbox even better.

Fortnite: Creative has an early access period that starts December 6 for anyone with the Season 7 Battle Pass, and it opens for all players on December 13.

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