Man, so here’s the scoop from Epic Games—yeah, the big shots behind Fortnite. They dropped this bomb at their State of Unreal 2025 gig. Picture this: a Persona Device. Sounds sci-fi, right? It’s rolling out in the Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Players can, like, jazz up their NPCs with voices, personalities, and—get this—goals and knowledge too. Mind-blowing, or maybe it’s just me. They say it’s coming later this year, whenever that means.
Now, Andrew Grant and Andrew Ruffini—yep, two Andrews—were on stage making the magic happen. They showed off this whiz-bang Persona Device. There was this NPC called Mr. Buttons in their demo, full of sass and maybe a little too demanding. It felt like they were pulling tech from the depths of the Star Wars galaxy. Vader vibes, anyone? Epic said something about sharing this tech journey with creators, which, well, could either be awesome or a disaster waiting to happen.
So Mr. Buttons, he’s there trying to get someone to press a button—his thing, I guess? And the Epic guys were all chit-chatting with him, showing off how this AI could, like, emote and stuff. It’s funny how tech makes even a digital dude seem sort of, I dunno, real.
And here’s a weird throwback: May—uh, last year maybe? Epic unleashed this AI Darth Vader talking with a tweaked version of James Earl Jones’ voice. Can you imagine? But whatever grand plan they had for Vader kinda went sideways. Technology, right? It either wows you or makes you scratch your head.
I’m just thinking out loud here: when Epic throws this Persona Device into the gaming world, it’s gonna be a ride. More power for players, more chaos maybe? After what went down with Vader, I’m bracing for a storm of opinions. Can’t decide if that’s exciting or a train wreck in motion.
Oh, and if you’re curious or bored or whatever, check out the State of Unreal livestream. It’s a wild ride.
