Epic scoops up Rock Band creator Harmonix

Fortnite maker Epic Games has announced its latest acquisition: Harmonix, the studio behind iconic music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

In a blog post, Harmonix said that support for existing games like Rock Band and Fuser would continue. The studio also explained its plans to expand into — what else? — the metaverse. “Now, we’ll be working with Epic to once again challenge expectations as we bring our unique brand of musical gaming experiences to the metaverse, and we couldn’t be more excited,” the blog post reads. As part of this, Epic says that the studio will “develop musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite.”

Music has become an increasing focus for Epic, following the big success of virtual concerts inside of Fortnite from the likes of Travis Scott and Ariana Grande. And according to the company, scooping up Harmonix fits into that musical focus. “Music is already bringing millions of people together in Fortnite, from our emotes to global concerts and events,” Alain Tascan, Epic’s VP of game development, said in a statement. “Together with the Harmonix team, we will transform how players experience music, going from passive listeners to active participants.”

Epic has made a number of high-profile acquisitions in the game development space over the last few years, including Rocket League studio Psyonix and Mediatonic, the team behind Fall Guys.