Duolingo expands music learning with acquisition of NextBeat gaming team
Language learning giant Duolingo has stepped up its position in music education by acquiring the team behind music game studio NextBeat. Known for creating popular rhythm games Beatstar and Country Star, the London-based team brings deep expertise in game design, music licensing, and mobile interactivity.
Announcing this acquisition, Duolingo vowed to strengthen its commitment to making music education more fun and engaging. Since the launch of Duolingo Music in 2023, millions have tried their hand at learning music theory via the app’s interactive piano interface. The platform showed it was serious about music education through groundbreaking partnerships with the likes of Sony Music, and with Loog for a portable piano. Now, the platform plans to go even further, taking inspiration from the best mobile games on the market.
“Learning should be just as engaging as playing a great game, whether you’re practicing a new language or playing a favourite song,” said Bob Meese, Chief Business Officer at Duolingo. “This is a strategic bet on talent. The NextBeat team brings deep mobile gaming and music industry expertise, which will make our Music course and the entire Duolingo platform more delightful, immersive, and effective.”
A Digital Music News explains, NextBeat, a spin-out from Space Ape Games, was officially formed earlier in 2025. The founding team – Simon Hade, Olly Barnes, and Joe Adams – previously helped launch rhythm game hits that reached over 100 million downloads and generated nearly $200 million in revenue. Now, their 23-strong team joins Duolingo to bring that same level of excitement to music education.
Importantly, this deal marks Duolingo’s first official presence in the UK, creating a new hub for innovation in music learning tools.
“From day one, it was clear that Duolingo and NextBeat share the same values: putting learners first, obsessing over great design, and never taking ourselves too seriously,” said Simon Hade, CEO of NextBeat. “Joining forces means we can bring our passion for music and play to a platform that is redefining how people learn.”
This new acquisition could mean a greater range of instrument/discipline options to learn with Duolingo Music. Duolingo chief business officer Bob Meese told Bloomberg, “We’re going to experiment. We could do guitar, we could do voice, we could do rhythm, so you will see more, different music experiences coming out of us.”
Duolingo is clearly not treating music as a side project. With 47.7 million daily active users and the top spot in the Education category on Google Play and the App Store, this is a platform determined to reshape how people learn to play music.