That's right, you can now experience GTA in Fortnite

As GDC draws to a close, we've seen plenty of exciting developments in video game technology that will open up incredible new possibilities for game devs. In a stunning showcase of Epic Games' latest creative tool, we officially get a glimpse at how GTA would look in the Fortnite universe – because who doesn't want that crossover?

It's no secret that Unreal Engine is hailed as one of the best creative tools for developing immersive 3D experiences. GDC hasn't been short of exciting updates for the program, like this tool that utilises real-time motion capture to instantly create photo-realistic facial animations on meta humans. Want to know more about Unreal Engine 5.2's creative capabilites? We have a dedicated guide on how to use UE to step up your character designs.

The Unreal Editor is a brand new tool set from Epic Games that brings Unreal Engine's tools into the Fortnite engine. The video (above) shows a variation of environments created using the application. BeyondCreative, the studio behind the demo, were among a chosen few to gain access to the brand new software prior to the official release. In order to test its creative capabilities, 3D artist Daniel Peta tasked himself with recreating one of the most iconic locations from Grand Theft Auto to showcase just how efficient the engine is. From hyper-realistic textures to stunning lighting, the results are incredibly impressive. I'm particularly enamoured with the ray tracing in the puddle reflections and the depth of shadows.

The environment is packed with assets that really bring the scene to life. Artist Daniel also shared examples of a BMX bike model made in Blender that was then added into Unreal Engine using the new toolset that allows artists to easily import renders from other programmes. 

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As more and more creative tools like this are released, game development is becoming more accessible than ever and it's an exciting look into the future of gaming technology. Where will we be this time next year, I wonder? If you're wanting to step into the world of game dev yourself, we have a write up of Unreal 5 as well as a guide to the best laptops for animation to help get you started. You can also head on over to the Unreal Engine website to download and try it for free right now if you want to learn just how powerful this incredible software is.

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