Happy Update Day UEFN Community! Epic shipped 90+ changes in v42.00. One of them changes who builds your island.
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▶ WHAT’S NEW IN UEFN v42.00
Unreal MCP, the Model Context Protocol plugin that shipped with UE 5.8, is now live inside UEFN. Epic embedded an MCP server in the editor process, so agentic tools like Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor can drive it over a local HTTP connection.
90+ CHANGES LOGGED | 7 NEW EXPERIMENTAL | 2 GRADUATED |
CASE FILE
UEFN · TOOLING
Three new Verse camera modifiers landed: Orbit, Fixed Angle, and Fixed Point. Top-down, isometric, and twin-stick genres were camera-blocked in UEFN for years. A whole category of games just became buildable without hacks.
PATCH NOTES
Released August 20, 2026. Every item below is from Epic's official notes; links go straight to the docs.
The headliners
NEW Unreal MCP in UEFN, agentic tools drive the editor over local HTTP. Real Verse files, real devices, real entities.
DROP Virtual Pointer out of Experimental, tap and drag are now shippable in live games. De-projection APIs graduated too.
NEW Ability System (Experimental), a code-native framework for reusable gameplay abilities in Verse. Templates or full API.
NEW Timing Insights, frame-time breakdown of a live session. You can finally attribute a perf regression instead of guessing.
NERF Telekineticon is Experimental, islands using the new physics manipulation tool cannot be published. Prototype only.
NERF GetPassengers() deprecated, swap to GetOccupants() in fort_vehicle. Update your vehicle code now.
Breaking changes, do these first
GetPassengers() in fort_vehicle is deprecated, use GetOccupants(). API ref
UEFN Physics (Beta) is now enabled from the Island Settings device, not Project Settings. Docs
Cross-module concrete/abstract restriction removed, concrete types can now inherit abstract base types across modules. Real unlock for shared Verse libraries.
Telekineticon islands cannot be published while it stays Experimental. Docs
Client exit behavior is now configurable: none / return to main menu / exit-close.
Automatic save-on-iteration notification removed.
FTextInspector::GetSourceString deprecated for GetSourceStringRef; engine-side C++, not island Verse.
Abilities & cameras (all Experimental)
Ability System, extensible, reusable gameplay abilities in Verse. Docs
Fortnite Template Abilities, place animation, audio, and gameplay effects at specific moments on a timeline. Docs
Verse Abilities API, the code path for deeper customization. API ref
Orbit Camera Modifier, third-person boom-arm camera that follows and orbits a target entity.
Fixed Angle Camera Modifier, follows a target from a constant viewing angle. This is your isometric camera.
Fixed Point Camera Modifier, stationary camera that rotates in place to keep targets framed.
Caveat worth saying out loud: these are early experimental releases and Epic says the APIs may change. Prototype on them. Do not bet your architecture on them yet.
Mobile
Virtual Pointer can now be integrated into live games; tap and drag on mobile. Pinch (zoom/scale) stays Experimental. Docs
Developer Customizable Touchscreen Controls, build touch layouts as UMG User Widgets, assign to a HUD Controller device. Docs
Tappable Custom HUD Widgets, HUD elements act as touchscreen buttons driving your logic. Docs
Platform Controls Query, Verse API detects touch-enabled devices so you can route players. Docs
Mesh imports now apply mobile-friendly settings by default. Designing for Mobile
Asset health & validation
Asset Health now flags missing LODs and incorrect Min LOD for Quality settings.
Auto-fix option added for StaticMesh LOD validation failures.
New validations for single-LOD complex meshes and quality-specific MinLOD.
Post-import actions automatically set Minimum LOD for imported static meshes.
Why this matters more than it sounds: LOD mistakes used to be found by players on low-end phones, not by you. This moves that failure earlier and cheaper.
Verse, language & tools
@deprecated / @discontinued / @experimental warnings now show the propagation source, so you can tell where a marker actually came from.
VerseLocalizationHelper now returns the unlocalized string if localization fails.
GetOrCreateAgentFromController net-id warning reduced to a Verbose log.
VE 2.0 updated to handle the uncooked editor.
Source .verse files now shown via the verse.ShowBuiltInSource CVar.
Fixed Browse-to for default creative_prop_asset @editable in UEFN.
UEFN editor
Show Backface Edges toggle for wireframe visualization.
Toggle Auto Push Verse Changes is now key-bindable.
Teleport Players and Set Editor Viewport to Player are now key-bindable.
F now focuses the object in the viewport and scrolls the Outliner to it.
ScrollBox bar style exposed in the UMG Details panel.
Fixed dragged objects snapping to the cursor when dragged over the viewport.
Fixed Outliner folder and world context menus (Duplicate Folder Hierarchy, Select actions).
Fixed Select All for search-matching rows after pressing Enter.
Fixed F2 rename when the object is selected from the viewport.
Fixed Landscape and Modeling panel UI naming in LUF mode.
Fixed Live Edit grouping desync.
Events and Functions now work on mini-game Live Edit devices.
Multiple object placement no longer triggers unexpected Push Changes.
Cook failure Message Log duplicate pages eliminated.
Browse to Asset now works on static mesh actors.
Custom Inventory setting display corrected.
Gizmo AllowList settings now properly applied.
Scene Graph
Override icon now reflects only user-meaningful overrides; an entity's icon aggregates its descendants.
Entity Prefab Editor viewport gains maximize/restore.
Prefab Editor shows an item count: X items, Y prefabs, Z entities, I selected.
Fixed Prefab Editor Tag display persisting between sessions.
Restored Save Entities as External/Internal Files context menu entries.
Fixed the client not invoking UpdateTransform() on OnRep_LocalTransformInternal() with an origin set.
Scene Graph Known Issues was updated this release.
Environments & landscapes
The biggest fix block in the release.
Added a No Tool selection mode to the Landscape Editor.
Changed the landscape (legacy) foliage snapping setting.
Exposed the Advanced > Bounds show flag in the UEFN Show viewport menu.
Improved static and skeletal mesh UV visualization; tile range selection shows out-of-range UVs.
Fixed landscape grass crashes from partly unregistered components on load/unload.
Fixed the landscape spline tangent manipulation regression from 5.8.
Fixed multiple Landscape Layer Blend issues with weight- and height-blended layers.
Fixed a Layer Blend assert when height input was connected to incorrect nodes.
Fixed an assert when loading landscapes with duplicated grass types.
Fixed a crash exiting Landscape Editor mode after application shutdown.
Fixed FortWaterBodyExclusionVolume not honoring exclusion mode.
Fixed a spurious map check error for landscape streaming proxy actors.
Fixed a potential infinite loop when deleting landscape components.
Fixed invalid landscape textures from the Smooth and Flatten tools.
Fixed Nanite landscape not updating after component deletion.
Fixed Smooth/Flatten/Noise tools losing target layers.
Fixed the Flatten tool with unsupported renderer target types.
Fixed water and landscape collision display in UEFN.
In-game UI & materials
Fixed Verse UI receiving no focus when displayed behind an input-consuming menu. This was a real blocker for menu-heavy islands.
Fixed the Material Editor not generating shader source for mobile platforms.
Fixed conditional expressions being translated as lerp instead of select.
The User Interfaces Feature Example was reorganized into five categories: Verse UI, Scene Graph UI, device-based UI, UI Art, and full-feature examples.
Performance
Improved PSO precaching for budget PCs in Performance mode; fewer hitches, faster placeholder replacement.
Reduced CPU overhead for keyboard inputs on Windows.
Fixed non-Nanite instanced meshes being drawn at a higher LOD than expected. Straight GPU win.
Fixed the saved Textures quality setting being ignored on fresh boot.
Community-reported fixes
Credit where it is due; these came from creators filing on the forums.
Outliner multi-click issues fixed. Report
FindCreativeObjectsWithTag now retrieves objects. Report
Runtime world-space widgets with agent messages no longer crash the client. Report
Ballistic Recon Grenade now outlines scanned players. Report
Guards set to neutral team are no longer aggressive. Report
Dropping an item entity no longer breaks child entity transforms. Report
possessable_component now reattaches after elimination and respawn. Report
The Categories editable field now works on non-creative-device classes. Report
Gameplay & device fixes
Fixed black terrain appearing on the island minimap.
Fixed the RootComponent crash while using the phone tool.
Fixed stutter from rollbacks when players slide off ledges on physics-enabled islands.
Fixed epic Infantry Rifle and epic Tactical Shotgun not upgrading to legendary with the Midas Flopper.
Fixed the Prop-O-Matic breaking after rapid repeated transform and end-transform.
Fixed players entering the Splat animation with Fall Damage disabled.
Fixed joining private matches via the friend list Join Game button.
Fixed the HLT Fire and Look Stick getting stuck firing after a revive kit.
Fixed a crash when dropping or adding some inventory items.
Fixed late joining matches in progress on Creative islands.
Fixed Join button visibility in the lobby.
Fixed settings categories being ignored when accessed immediately after game start.
Lore
Branch archiving and restore added.
Optional automatic backups can now be disabled.
Disabling revision control locally no longer affects collaborators globally.
New filtering options and improved lock-status notifications.
Optimized data directory rebuilding.
Fixed Verse conflict resolution and a VS Code plugin memory leak.
New content
Weapons: 8-Bit Shotgun (Common through Legendary), Midas' Masterpiece, Twin Siphon Shotguns, Pump Shotgun (Epic and Legendary), Drum Gun (Common and Uncommon).
Prefabs & galleries: Heatwave Harbor; Mucho Macho Hotel, Sandy Buttes Hotel, Side Kickin' It, plus wall, foundation, and prop galleries.
What is NOT in this release
No Audio, Animation, Niagara/VFX, or Sequencer sections.
No monetization, discovery, or island metrics changes.
No dedicated Known Issues section; Epic defers to the Scene Graph Known Issues doc.
★ READ THE SOURCE ★
THE FULL 42.00 NOTES: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/fortnite/42-00-fortnite-ecosystem-updates-and-release-notes?lang=en-US
That's the play. Happy UEFN v42.00 Update Day!
Lee Graham (OFF THE X)