Fortnite's September 3 ecosystem update gives island makers a head start on spooky season. The official 42.10 notes introduce Harrowville, an environment template supported by horror scenery and a collection of 166 audio additions, including effects and vocals.

Build for the people playing together

Another addition lets creators recognize which players belong to the same party. That opens up options such as bonuses for groups or difficulty that responds to party size. These are tools for island developers to build with; each experience determines how it uses them.

Epic also adds more ways to like islands and follow their developers while playing, plus device-specific mobile previews for creators checking their layouts.

Your voice chat can travel with you

Alongside the creator update, Epic Parties connects voice chat across Fortnite, the Epic Games Launcher and Epic's mobile apps. A friend on a console can talk to someone using a phone, while a PC player can keep the conversation going during another Epic Games Store game.

Epic says chat can continue with mobile apps in the background. People using the launcher or mobile apps can also transfer their voice session when moving into Fortnite. Friends who accept a party invitation will join the same Fortnite lobby when they launch the game.

To start, open the friends list in a supported Epic app and invite an online friend to a party. Existing groups can use the party option in their text chat. Muting, blocking and reporting controls remain available.

Why it matters

Our read: this is a useful pairing of creation tools and social convenience. Horror islands depend on atmosphere, but an evening with friends also depends on getting everyone together. Harrowville helps with the first job; a voice conversation that survives a device change helps with the second.