How the Fortnite Discover Page Really Works (and How To Get There)
If you build Fortnite maps, Discover is your storefront. It’s where players find you and where your island’s data either opens the door or keeps it shut. Below is a super simple breakdown of how Discover really works today, based on Epic’s latest documentation, plus practical steps you can act on right away.
The Three Pillars Behind Discover (and Your Single Score)
Epic evaluates every island on three pillars:
Attraction
Engagement
Satisfaction
Attraction measures how well your island captures attention and keeps players interested after they click.
Epic looks at:
Clicks per impression (CTR)
Minutes played per impression
Players leaving in the first 2, 5, or 10 minutes
💡 Tip:
Make your thumbnail clear, high-contrast, and instantly readable. Keep your title short and relevant, and ensure your first 30 seconds of gameplay instantly hooks players.
Engagement focuses on keeping players active once they’ve joined.
Epic measures:
Minutes per player (96-hour window)
Day 1 and Day 7 retention
Unique players in the last 96 hours
Social playtime (friends in parties)
If players stay idle for more than 60 seconds, those minutes don’t count so make sure there’s always something to do!
💡 Tip:
Add clear goals, progress systems, and replay value. Short, satisfying loops help retention far more than long, slow starts.
Satisfaction comes from how much fun players have and how they rate your island.
Epic uses:
Endorsements (Favorites & Recommendations)
Post-match surveys (Fun/Quality/Difficulty ratings)
💡 Tip:
When players finish a match, add a quick in-game reminder like “Enjoyed this? Tap ❤ to favorite and find it again easily!”
These all roll up into a Discover Score that directly feeds personalization and recommendations to players. Metrics mostly use a 96-hour lookback and update hourly, so momentum matters!
Key Signals Epic Calls Out
Click-through rate (CTR), clicks per impression, and minutes played per impression
Minutes per player (96h), D1/D7 retention, unique players (96h), social party time
Fun/satisfaction survey results and endorsements (Favorite/Recommend)
Impression definition: a thumbnail fully visible ≥2s (clicks always count as an impression)
FN Analytica note: “Minutes per impression” and “minutes per player” move different levers. One tells Epic your impressions convert into sustained play; the other tells them players stay once inside. Optimize both!
Sophistication Score (and How to Get Your Update Tested Again & Again)
Epic assigns a Sophistication Score to your map every time you publish, which measures how much genuine development work and feature depth your island uses (devices, animation, sequencers, Verse, textures, etc.). This influences testing priority for new/updated islands and can earn you multiple test runs in the first week. Re-using systems isn’t penalized.
💡 Tip:
Each time you update, add at least one meaningful gameplay or visual change like a new mechanic using Verse, a fresh animation sequence, or an expanded environment using new devices. Even small but genuine upgrades increase your Sophistication Score and can trigger another Discover test, giving your island fresh visibility.
💡💡Bonus Tip:
Keep a simple changelog inside your island description (“v1.3 – added jet boosters + animated gates”) so players and Epic’s reviewers instantly see that you’re actively developing!
How New & Updated Islands Get Tested
Epic aims to test every new/updated island. A test is around 50,000 impressions in 20–60 minutes. During that window, the same three pillars (Attraction/Engagement/Satisfaction) are analyzed. Improve those signals and you’ll see For You impressions rise.
Content Pre-Checks & Discover Filtering (Titles/Thumbnails Matter)
Before you publish, Epic runs content pre-checks on titles and thumbnails to reduce policy violations and near-duplicate media (yes, a lot slip through the cracks). Results can be success/warning/failed. Publishing with a warning can reduce your frequency in Discover rows (“filtered”). Original creators can reuse similar titles/media across their own islands without penalty though.
💡 Tip:
Avoid names like “Muscle Beach: The Pit” patterns that mimic existing hits. If you get a warning, fix it. Don’t just ship and hope. Your visibility can drop!
What Powers Recommendations (“For You” Feed)
Epic combines player-level personalization with Discover Score. Behind the scenes, Epic’s models use a mix of your island’s data and each player’s habits to look at titles, descriptions, tags, thumbnails, devices, and gameplay telemetry (elims, builds/min, structural damage, vehicle usage, distance travelled, props, camera types, weapons spawned/used, etc.). Islands with higher Discover Scores tend to surface more. Candidate pools include top islands per Game/Featured Collection and filter for ≥1,000 unique users (96h) and ≤45% idle time.
note: filters can vary by platform.
The Main Discover Rows Explained (and How To Qualify)
there are multiple sections (“rows”) in Discover and names/order can vary by cohort (age, region, platform). Epic experiments with new rows frequently, but the foundations below are stable. Here’s a list of the current rows, how a map is chosen, and and the threshold to be considered:
For You
⚙️ Highest Discover Scores, then personalized by play history/favorited creators/region. A Sophistication filter removes low-effort & misleading maps
📊 Uses Discover Score & personalization filters
New & Updated for You
⚙️ Recent updates or new islands from creators a player favors/plays often
📊 Personalized to the player
Top Rated
⚙️ Highest aggregated Satisfaction (currently prioritizes Fun ratings)
📊 ≥25% D1 retention and ≥20 survey responses. Sophistication filters apply, often regionalized
Most Engaging
⚙️ Highest minutes per player (96h)
📊 ≥25% D1, ≥100 CCU (96h); 5M impressions max if shown in homebar. Sophistication filters apply, often regionalizes and sorted by metrics per country
Popular
⚙️ Highest minutes per impression (96h)
📊 Avg CCU ≥2000 (48h) and ≥15 minutes per player; 5M impressions max in homebar
People Love (Variety)
⚙️ Top 10% D1 within Variety, then minutes per player (96h)
📊 ≥1000 CCU (96h); 5M impressions per 100h cap
Fan Favorites (BR/Combat)
⚙️ Top 10% D1 within BR & Combat, then minutes per player (96h)
📊 ≥1000 CCU (96h); 5M impressions cap.
Great with Friends
⚙️ Highest % minutes in 4+ player parties
📊 Max CCU ≥100 (96h) and ≥0.33 minutes per impression
Search Inside Discover (Why Tags & Words Matter)
Fortnite uses hybrid search: keyword matching + semantic search. Results are sorted by a mix of semantic similarity, exact keyword hits, current CCU, and recent query popularity. Your titles, descriptions, and tags all feed this.
What To Do Today If You Want To Hit Discover
🎯 Attraction
A/B test two thumbnails in the Promotional Media screen and compare CTR after 48–72h.
Rework first 120 characters of your description to align with what players search (keep genre + hook up top).
Use tags that match the actual experience. Don’t chase the biggest category.
🔁 Engagement
Target Minutes per player (96h) with clearer objectives in the first two minutes.
Add “party-friendly” loops (squad bonuses, shared goals) to lift social time.
Track D1 and D7 in Project Analytics/Insights and patch weekly.
⭐ Satisfaction
Add exit prompts (“Enjoyed this? Favorite to find it fast next time”).
Smooth difficulty spikes. Fun survey results feed the score.
Compliance & Visibility
Fix any pre-check warnings before publishing. Avoid title/thumbnail near-duplicates.
If you’re the original creator of a similar title/thumbnail, you’re allowed to reuse it but everyone else gets filtered.
FAQ (Quick Wins for Creators)
Q: How long until my changes reflect in Discover?
A: Metrics update hourly and mostly look back 96 hours. Expect movement as you accumulate new sessions.
Q: What’s the best way to get my new map noticed and tested in Discover?
A: Epic targets a ~50k impression burst within 20–60 minutes to gauge potential. Strong Sophistication Scores will prioritize your map as well possibly triggering multiple tests in week one.
Q: Do idlers help my engagement?
A: No! Idle minutes (no input ≥60s) don’t count. Epic also caps recommendations if idle time is too high, so make sure players keep moving.
Q: Should I prioritize Popular or Most Engaging?
A: Both matter, but the thresholds differ: Popular leans on minutes per impression and high avg CCU, while Most Engaging focuses on minutes per player + D1 and CCU ≥100. Optimize for the one you’re closest to qualifying for first.
Q: Where can I see the latest documentation of How Discover Works in Fortnite?
A: Right here my friend: how discover works in fortnite
Lettuce Wrap This Up
Discover isn’t luck - it’s math + taste. Nail attraction, sustain engagement, earn satisfaction, and your Discover Score and visibility will follow.
FN Analytica can help you track those signals, find weak points, and help you iterate fast for success.
If you want to dig deeper, you can explore our Discover Data Analysis Reports, which give you detailed, data-driven insights built from Fortnite’s public metrics to guide your next creative move.
Work with us: Want a personalized Discover audit and data-driven recommendations to help boost your map? Book a consult with FN Analytica today.