The games industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, with layoffs, studio closures, and funding issues affecting many developers. Enrique Fuentes, CEO and co-founder of Teravision Games, felt this turbulence firsthand with the release of their asymmetrical horror game, *Killer Klowns From Outer Space*, based on the 80s movie. Despite positive reception (IGN rated it a 7, praising its entertainment value) and high viewership for its trailers, the team struggled post-launch. This struggle mirrored the wider industry's difficulties.

“As you know, 2024 was a pretty tough year for the whole industry. So it was a little bit slow for us to close our next project,” Fuentes reflects. Despite collaborations with major brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Xbox, securing a follow-up project to *Killer Klowns* proved challenging. With time running short, Teravision turned to a novel approach: creating games within Fortnite using Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN). In less than a year, they released three UEFN games, with their fourth, *Courtyard King*, launching today and utilizing the official *The Walking Dead* content pack in UEFN.

Developed in partnership with Skybound, the company co-founded by *The Walking Dead* creator Robert Kirkman, *Courtyard King* is a King of the Hill style multiplayer PvPvE game. Players battle each other and NPC zombies for control of territory within the iconic prison setting from *The Walking Dead*. All *The Walking Dead*-related content in *Courtyard King* uses official UEFN assets, including character models of Rick Grimes, Negan, and Daryl Dixon. Teravision also collaborated with Skybound's writers to develop the game’s narrative and dialogue.

“Instead of a multi-year project like *Killer Klowns From Outer Space*, these are projects that we could put together in weeks or months,” Fuentes explains. “We have worked with big brands in the past… and UEFN was something that we were experimenting with… but we never imagined that was going to be the route where we’re going to be engaging with a company like Skybound,” he adds. “But I mean, UGC, it’s one of the biggest things in gaming right now.”

User-generated content (UGC) is a major trend in gaming, fueled by platforms like Fortnite. While UGC traditionally refers to content created by players, professional studios like Teravision are now exploring this space. Fortnite’s Unreal Engine 5-based tools provide an ideal environment for experienced developers to experiment and manage risk.

“It made sense because we come from an engineering background and it was a platform where we could experiment in and assume some of the risk,” Fuentes says. This approach allowed Teravision to develop games like *Havoc Hotel*, a roguelike shooter set in a hotel, where players earn currency to buy more powerful weapons as they progress. The success of *Havoc Hotel* and its sequels, particularly *Havoc Hotel 3*, has solidified its place among Fortnite’s most popular games.

Teravision's game designer, Martin Rodriguez, notes that the transition to UEFN was smooth for the studio, given their experience with Unreal Engine on *Killer Klowns*. UEFN's streamlined systems and "drag and drop" processes enabled the team to focus on crafting better games and exploring new creative ideas. “For us, it just removes some of the work that we would’ve done otherwise and allows us to focus on just making better games and explore different new creative ideas,” Rodriguez states.

While the engineering team adapted well to UEFN’s tools, the game design team faced unique challenges. Games like *Havoc Hotel* started as experiments but evolved into fully-fledged games. Teravision’s creative director, LD Zambrano, observed that UEFN games differ from traditional games in significant ways.

“A traditional experience we have had designing other [non-UEFN] games is where players relate through objectives that entice cooperation and competition, right?” Zambrano explains. “In [UEFN’s] case, we have found that even though those objectives are still relevant and we still can use that game design sensibility and bring them there, I found that there are a lot of experiences that are very popular within the Fortnite ecosystem that are kind of just context. They’re weird situations and interactions that don’t necessarily translate into a very clear competition, but they still work.”

Zambrano likens UEFN games to schoolyard play. “I have found that there is this way of approaching each other that brings me back to recess, which is you meet somebody and make up some sort of game that might not make sense, but still you’re engaging and creating friendships. That’s what I mean about some of these games becoming a ‘context.’”

One distinctive feature of *Courtyard King* is its infinite gameplay. There's no final winner at the end of a round; matches continue indefinitely, allowing players to join and leave, and even switch teams. This dynamic fosters scenarios reminiscent of *The Walking Dead*, including potential betrayals. “Players can drop in and drop out whenever they want. They can even change teams whenever they like, which generates situations for betrayals. Maybe you enter a party with your friend, but then in the middle of the match you don’t tell him and change teams. Which is very Walking Dead-like,” Fuentes describes.

For game developers, UEFN represents a promising future. It allows studios to experiment without exhausting their resources while accessing a large player base and significant IP assets like *The Walking Dead*. “We can actually assume the risk as an indie developer in [UEFN]. Because last year, we couldn’t even think about starting a three-year project. We could do something in a few weeks with a smaller team and that completely changes the paradigm for a new developer. This is now a viable model where you can actually support an 80-person studio like we do, and we can assume the risk,” Fuentes asserts. “It’s something that if you have the right ideas, the right creativity around it, if you understand the market well enough and you have the right thinking, execution becomes possible and it doesn’t take years, it actually takes weeks, maybe months. I think this is a dream come true for indie developers.”