[UPDATE] Producer Tanya Jessen says Epic could mandate persistent Internet connection for upcoming survival game in the interest of fun over fighting piracy.

Epic Games may mandate gamers have a constant Internet connection to play upcoming PC survival game Fortnite, producer Tanya Jessen told Rock Paper Shotgun. She said firm plans are not yet in place, but noted if Fortnite were to require a persistent connection, it would be done in the interest of fun over a desire to fight piracy.

Fortnite may follow Diablo III in requiring a constant Internet connection.

“That“s something we don“t know yet,“ Jessen said. “It“s gonna be really dependent on gameplay, and it“s also dependent on platform. So whatever we decide to do there is gonna be more relevant to the most fun experience you can have with your friends [than it is to piracy]. But I can“t nail that down today.“

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Epic provided a statement to Rock Paper Shotgun, reiterating that no firm plans are yet in place.

“We“re not talking about our plans at this time, mainly because that plan doesn“t exist yet," reads a line from the statement. "Fortnite is an iterative, living project and many things are still being decided prior to its release in 2013.“

During Comic-Con 2012 last week, Epic Games announced that Fortnite will be the first game to run on the latest iteration of the company's development toolset, Unreal Engine 4. The game has been announced only for the PC, but Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski said the company has not ruled out the possibility of releasing the game on other platforms.

Fortnite is described as a cooperative "sandbox survival game," with gameplay divided into two main sections: day and night. During the day, players will work together to build fortifications using whatever materials can be scavenged and scrounged. Once night falls, they will retreat into their forts as they hope to fend off waves of monsters and survive until morning.

For more on Fortnite, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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