Fortnite player Gavin “Geerzy” Gear has sold their Creative map, The Pit, to War Thunder studio Gaijin Entertainment as part of a multi-million dollar deal. While other Fortnite creators have earned money selling custom content, this transaction is unique given the large amount of money exchanged and the buyer being an established game publisher like Gaijin.
Gaijin, for those unfamiliar, is best known for publishing War Thunder, one of the longest-running free-to-play military-themed MMOs. While popular, the game has seen its fair share of controversy over the years, including instances of review bombing on Steam following changes to its monetization system and last year’s apology from Gaijin after it used Space Shuttle Challenger imagery in War Thunder key art.
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As reported by Dexerto, Gaijin purchased the custom Fortnite map The Pit from its creator, Gavin “Geerzy” Gear, for an undisclosed amount in the range of several million dollars. Among the factors inspiring the purchase is the popularity of The Pit, with the PvP arena-style map boasting an impressive peak of 140,000 concurrent players, according to Dexerto. Aside from attracting a high volume of players, Creative maps also have strong replayability and long-term value, particularly among Fortnite players looking to farm XP.
Fortnite Player Sells Custom Map in Multi-Million Dollar Deal
In a statement on its website, Gaijin confirmed The Pit as a strategic investment into “one of the most popular creator-made Islands in Fortnite.” With this purchase, Gaijin will have its newly created studio, EndoWorlds, work alongside Geerzy to expand the game experience and unlock “new creative possibilities.” Gaijin also hints in its official statement that this collaboration is just the beginning, with plans already in place to further expand its investments in user-generated content (UGC).
“User-generated content is an exciting new frontier, and we see incredible potential in supporting talented creators like Geerzy. EndoWorlds has a deep understanding of the Fortnite ecosystem, and we look forward to working with them and Geerzy to expand The Pit’s reach and impact,” commented Anton Yudintsev, founder of Gaijin Entertainment.
It will be interesting to see whether Gaijin’s purchase sets a precedent for other game companies and publishers to invest in successful user-created maps, or if it prompts the creation of new rules regarding third-party purchases. This is particularly relevant given previous efforts by Epic Games to address Creative scams in Fortnite, including tactics that involve misleading players into liking or favoriting an Island in exchange for fake rewards.
It will also be interesting to see whether Gaijin’s investment in The Pit proves profitable as its EndoWorlds studio works to build upon the already successful foundation established by Geerzy. In terms of money to be made, creators collectively earned a staggering $352 million in 2024 following the successful launch of the Fortnite Creative Economy 2.0 program in 2023.
Fortnite
- Released
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September 26, 2017
- ESRB
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T for Teen – Violence
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
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