The Creative Juice Podcast

Every builder is asking the same question: why do some maps blow up while others with just as much effort go nowhere? Recorded live at Unreal Fest minutes after State of Unreal, this episode puts three operators with very different playbooks on one stage. Chad Mustard, COO and co-founder of JOGO Studios and one of the most recognizable voices in Fortnite Creative, argues that passion alone is why...

Community building in Fortnite and UEFN usually gets treated like it happens by accident. Nancy Chen is proof it does not. She posted a single TikTok in early 2024 asking where the Fortnite girlies were, woke up to 200,000 views, and decided to do something about the thousands of women in her comments who had been treated badly the moment they turned a mic on. That decision became Girlies Squad, a...

Richytoons built a first person practice map to support Fortnite's Ballistics mode, and without any promotion it grew through Discovery into one of the most played warmup maps in the ecosystem. Then the mode was sunset, and the map went from around 100 average players to single digits almost overnight. That story sits at the center of this conversation, and it says a lot about what it actuall...

UEFN is not just a game engine. That is the thesis Javi Romero, founder of Sulfuric Media, opens this episode with, and it is the line most UEFN creators are leaving real craft on the floor by ignoring. Unreal Engine powers the Mandalorian, AAA cinematics, and live broadcast production. UEFN inherits the same cinematic toolset, and most creators never touch the cameras, lighting, post process, or...

Most UGC creators do not call a lawyer until after the DMCA already hit, the freelancer dispute already started, or the trademark squatter overseas already filed. Rose Kautz, an IP attorney at Hanson Bridgett LLP who teaches IP for startups and builds her own software on the side, sits down with Matt to map out the territory creators are walking through without realizing it. The conversation moves...

He Got Cut From Epic. What He Built Next Changed Everything. Lee Graham ran the UEFN Accelerator at Epic Games for six and a half years, helping major brands and game IPs enter Fortnite Creative and build for the creator economy. On March 24th, his Slack went down mid-Zoom. Everyone on the call knew what it meant before a word was said. By that afternoon he had been laid off alongside roughly a th...

Brainrot skins hit the Fortnite item shop and a UEFN studio built the deal. Brendan Stock is the CEO of Chartis, the company behind over 45 brand integrations inside UEFN in a single year and the team that drove the Brainrot collab from a TikTok search all the way to the Fortnite item shop. This conversation starts with the thesis Brendan has been building around since day one: help creators go fr...

Wertandrew is one of the most respected OG creators in Fortnite Creative and UEFN, known for building some of the most ambitious solo experiences in the space including Domus Mortem and Time Skip Chronicles. Matt sits down with Wert to get the unfiltered truth on what actually works in Fortnite Creative in 2026 and why most creators are getting it wrong. In this episode they cover: Why discovery i...

This week on Creative Juice, I sit down with Sleighted Sloth, one of the most respected tycoon creators in the UEFN space. Jon walked away from a six-year career in credit card app development to go all in on Fortnite Creative in 2024, and what happened next is genuinely impressive. We cover the full journey, from his early days in mobile development to getting invited to a LEGO game jam in Denmar...

Deepak Nair is one of the only people in the world who has worked inside Roblox, Epic Games (Fortnite Creative), and Meta Horizon Worlds. In this episode, he shares what he learned from all three ecosystems and holds nothing back. We get into what platforms actually prioritize vs. what they tell creators, why most developer feedback never turns into real change, the habits that separate creators w...

Brian Grayson has seen the industry from nearly every angle. He started in law, helped scale Hi-Rez Studios during the growth of Smite and Paladins, led publishing and R&D initiatives, and now applies those lessons inside Fortnite through Ghost Gaming. In this conversation, we unpack what AAA studios understand about live service development that many creators overlook. Brian explains why rete...

PixelatedDreamz is a Fortnite and UEFN environment artist who has quietly built one of the strongest freelance careers in the ecosystem. Starting from Creative 1.0 and early Minecraft builds, he found his niche in environments, landscapes, and materials, and turned that focus into over 110 paid commissions in a single year. In this episode, we talk about the moment that changed his path, why good-...

If you’ve ever shipped a UEFN map you genuinely believed in, but Discovery never gave it a real shot, this episode is for you. I’m joined by Graeme Bull , one of the most trusted educators in the UEFN and Verse space, to break down what actually holds creators back long term. We talk about the biggest misconception new UEFN developers walk in with, why great games can sit “dead” for months and sud...

In this episode of The Creative Juice Podcast, I sit down with GameDevMicah to break down what it actually takes to push Unreal Engine and UEFN beyond the obvious. We dig into real world optimization mistakes, common performance traps creators fall into, and how systems like instancing, GPU workflows, and destruction can scale when used correctly. Micah also shares why building in public matters,...

Eddie Benson and Joel Bestart, Co-Founders of Team Gauntlet, join the podcast to share the real story behind Kraken and how a small team built one of Fortnite’s most successful long-form UEFN experiences. We unpack what happened before Kraken broke through, how early community feedback shaped the game, and why progression and retention mattered more than chasing short-term Discovery spikes. Eddie...

Yu7a, CEO and Co Founder of Vysena Studios, joins me to break down the real story behind some of Fortnite’s most iconic creative projects. We talk about how Naruto and BTS came together in Creative 1.0, what brands still get wrong when entering Fortnite, and why Vysena just launched a new era focused on building long term player focused UEFN games. He shares behind the scenes stories from the Marc...

Fortnite creators always talk about the Discovery system, but almost nobody understands how it actually works. In this episode, I sit down with Jon Hughes, founder of FCHQ and one of the leading analytic minds in Fortnite Creative and UEFN. Jon breaks down the real numbers behind map success, why certain genres explode, why others fade fast, and what the data shows about player behavior in 2025. W...

Jim Ying, Managing Director & Founder of Mihada Capital, joins me to break down what it really takes to sell your studio or game. We dive into when to sell, what buyers actually look for, common mistakes creators make, and how acquisitions happen behind the scenes. This episode is a masterclass for any creator or studio thinking about scaling, raising capital, or getting acquired. Connect with...

From Tiffany & Co. to Hive Studio, Dummblond has built some of Fortnite’s most iconic Creative hubs and maps, with more than 100 million plays worldwide. In this episode, she shares how she transitioned from luxury retail to game development, her creative process inside Hive (the studio behind 1v1 With Every Gun), and what it takes to lead in Fortnite’s UGC space. Connect with Dummblond: X (Tw...

Philipp Batura, founder of Topcat , joins me to share how he went from failing at his first Roblox game to building a 7-figure digital fashion business featured in Forbes . We talk about the rise of Roblox UGC, scaling to over a million avatar items sold per month , why digital fashion matters more than ever, and how Topcat became one of the biggest names in virtual streetwear. Connect with Philip...

Michael Herriger, co-founder of Atlas Creative , joins me to talk about building the OG Fortnite map with UEFN, working with brands like the NBA and Microsoft, and expanding into Roblox with hits like Arcade Basketball. We cover player-first design, pitching brands the right way, lessons from billions of plays, and what’s next for Atlas. Connect with Michael: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

On this episode of The Creative Juice Podcast , Matt Zanazzo sits down with Ethan Guest , co-founder of Bloom Creative and one of the masterminds behind Zombie Escape , a Fortnite Creative map that exploded with millions of players. We talk about:  • The scariest moment of publishing their first map  • How Zombie Escape became addictive and impossible to copy  • What playtesting every single day t...

Dylan “SirRifty” Benn is the 18-year-old CEO of Genesis Studios, the Fortnite UEFN team behind some of the platform’s most ambitious projects. From building Squid Game with over 1M players in a single day to recreating Fortnite’s iconic live events, Genesis is setting new standards for creative studios. In this episode, we cover:  • SirRifty’s journey from Roblox to Fortnite UEFN  • How Genesis St...

Adam Starr is a video game lawyer helping UGC creators navigate the complex world of platform policies, contracts, mods, and IP rights across Fortnite, Roblox, and beyond. In this episode, we cover:  • Who actually owns your Fortnite/UEFN map • Brand usage rules (LEGO, NFL, Nike, music, etc.) developers usually get wrong • What types of mods and copyrighted assets can get you in trouble • How to s...

Zak Phelps helped the early evolution of Fortnite Creative while at Epic Games, shaping the tools and systems that now power millions of player-made maps. In this episode, we cover:  • How Fortnite’s most viral game modes started with broken tools  • The real reason “Steal a Brain Rot” and “Grow a Garden” exploded  • Why discovery is more math than magic  • What brands get wrong when launching in...