The future isn’t about broadcasting stories at audiences — it’s about inviting them inside.

What happens when worlds stop being platforms and start becoming places people can live, play, and create together?

At a recent conversation featuring Skyler Laston-Gaeta and Vicki Thompson from Epic Games, Sol Rogers from Magnopus, and Carol Trang from The LEGO Group, the panel explored how cross-platform worlds are reshaping storytelling, IP, and audience participation. The message was clear: the future isn’t about broadcasting stories at audiences — it’s about inviting them inside.

From Funnels to Invitations

Traditionally, audiences sit at the end of the funnel: watch the trailer, play the game, buy the product. But as Skyler Laston-Gaeta explained, cross-platform worlds flip that model on its head.

Instead of the funnel happening after the experience, audiences are invited directly into it. They don’t just consume the world — they help build it, shape it, and share it. Participation isn’t a feature; it’s the point.

Rituals, Not Just Posts

For Carol Trang, community engagement goes far beyond creating great social posts. LEGO focuses on building rituals— shared language, meta-narratives, and “wink-wink” moments that fans instantly recognise.

These rituals create continuity while still allowing space for surprise. Each interaction feels familiar, yet new. It’s how LEGO keeps communities engaged over time, not just campaign by campaign.

Playing With IP — Without Breaking It

One of the most powerful shifts discussed was the freedom to play with IP beyond its traditional form.

LEGO has always been careful not to “break” its worlds — but that doesn’t mean staying rigid. With the right partners, IP can stretch, remix, and evolve while staying true to its core. Working with Epic has allowed LEGO to experiment in ways that would previously have taken months of approvals.

In one ecosystem, clearing IP for something like a single Batmobile could take months. In Fortnite, LEGO can now release thousands of elements every month. That speed changes everything — creatively and commercially.

Not All Screen Time Is Equal

Sol Rogers challenged a familiar narrative: that screen time is inherently bad.

The problem isn’t screens — it’s how they’re used. Algorithm-driven, attention-extracting content is very different from experiences that foster deep engagement, creativity, learning, and connection. Cross-platform worlds, when designed thoughtfully, can be places of meaning rather than mindless consumption.

Fortnite as a Creative Stage

Epic’s ecosystem — particularly Fortnite and UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) — is redefining how content is made and shared.

With UEFN, creators don’t need to build networking or infrastructure from scratch. The foundations already exist. Fans can create games, stories, scenes, and even films using the same tools as professionals.

LEGO helped develop parts of these creator tools, enabling interactive building directly within games. The response was immediate: 20,000 creators signed up on day one, producing thousands of new experiences.

Games are no longer just products — they’re content creation platforms. Real-time production, scene building, thumbnail creation, and storytelling now happen inside the game itself.

Case Studies: LEGO, Daft Punk, and Beyond

Some standout examples showed just how far this approach can go:

• Daft Punk LEGO Experience in Fortnite
  A 6.5-minute front-end introduction leads players into a LEGO transformation, where player’s avatars build the elements of a song to create the track itself. The event streamed globally from Fortnite — blurring the line between concert, game, and creative tool.

• LEGO Star Wars Trench Run at the Las Vegas Sphere
  Completely separate from Fortnite, this experience put LEGO ships on the biggest screen on the planet — no VR required. Proof that cross-platform worlds don’t have to live in one place to feel connected.

A Unified Asset Pipeline Changes Everything

As Vicki Thompson explained, Epic’s unified asset pipeline allows creators and brands to build once and deploy everywhere — film, games, UEFN, and fan creations alike.

This isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a mindset shift. It reduces friction, speeds up collaboration, and opens IP to developers and communities in entirely new ways.

Fans as Co-Creators

This evolution feels like the natural next step from fan films and mods. Kids already identify with the tropes and characters they see on screen — now they expect to enter those worlds, customise them, and make them their own.

Mini-figures, avatars, and shared tools give fans a sense of ownership. They’re no longer outside the story looking in.

Measuring Success in a New World

So how do you measure success in this landscape?

The panel agreed it’s not just about numbers. Success comes from:

• Creating genuine value — experiences people want to play, use, and return to

• Efficiency through technology — unified pipelines that unlock scale

• Independence and purpose — working with the right partners, for the right reasons

If it has value, audiences will show up.

Stay in Your Worlds, Build Together

As LEGO celebrates milestones like 15 years of NINJAGO, one thing is clear: the future belongs to worlds that are lived in, not just launched.

Stay in your worlds.
Play in your worlds.
Build stories together.

Because in cross-platform worlds, the story doesn’t start with the brand — it starts with the audience.

James Dodd