Fortnite developers Epic Games have purchased Rock Band developers Harmonix to implement musical gaming experiences in the metaverse.

Epic Games, the video game developer best known for games like Fortnite, Unreal, Gears of War and Infinity Blade have acquired Harmonix, the developers behind music video games such as Dance Central and Rock Band, as well as the original developers and creators of Guitar Hero. The deal was annouced last week for an undisclosed amount.

Epic Games are looking to learn from the fun and engaging music expertise of Harmonix, as they work to build the metaverse and reimagine how music is experienced, created and distributed. The Harmonix team will collaborate closely with Epic to develop musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite. Harmonix says the new partnership won’t affect existing games. Titles like Rock Band 4 and Fuser will continue to receive support, DLCs and online servers.

This of course won’t be Epic Games or Fortnite’s first time dabbling with music, after countless virtual performances in the game during the pandemic gaining huge viewing numbers, from the likes of Ariana Grande, Easy Life, BTS, Travis Scott, many SoundCloud artists and more.

Harmonix has always aspired to create the world’s most beloved interactive music experiences, and by joining Epic we will be able to do this at scale. Together we will push the creative boundaries of what’s possible and invent new ways for our players to make, perform and share music.

Alex Rigopulos, Co-Founder and Chairman, Harmonix

Music is already bringing millions of people together in Fortnite, from our emotes to global concerts and events. Together with the Harmonix team we will transform how players experience music, going from passive listeners to active participants.

Alain Tascan, Vice President of Game Development, Epic Games