Rock Band, Guitar Hero studio Harmonix acquired by Epic Games

By Otto Kratky Published November 23, 2021

Epic Games has purchased Harmonix, the developer behind numerous music-based games, including Rock Band and Guitar Hero, for an unspecified amount. It’s one of the massive publisher’s biggest acquisitions since it purchased Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout developer Mediatonic in March.

We have some exciting news! https://t.co/HzgI0DX7Op pic.twitter.com/rtdyLWK41A

— Harmonix (@Harmonix) November 23, 2021

In a post on its site, Epic Games claimed that Harmonix would play a role in its own version of the metaverse. “Harmonix has a track record of creating fun and engaging music experiences designed for everyone to enjoy,” reads the statement. “As we work to build the metaverse, this expertise is needed to reimagine how music is experienced, created, and distributed.”

Recommended Videos

Along with helping Epic create its online universe, Harmonix will also be working with the Fortnite development team “to develop musical journeys and gameplay” for the massive free-to-play title. This is likely a reference to the multiple concerts that have taken place in the game, featuring artists from Travis Scott to Ariana Grande.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

However, fans of Rock Band 4 or any of Harmonix’s other currently supported games don’t have to worry about sudden server shutdowns. In its own statement, Harmonix said that it plans to continue supporting all of its games at full capacity. In regards to DLC for Rock Band 4, the developer said, “We’ll be continuing on with our existing DLC plans … and there are lots of great tracks coming as we wrap up 2021 and push into the new year.”

The developer also stressed that all of its games that are currently on Steam, including Fuser and Audica: Rhythm Shooter, won’t be taken off the digital marketplace.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

Lego Fortnite is getting a massive update, including a new game mode

Characters fishing in LEGO Fortnite.

Fortnite's various Lego modes have been around for just under a year, but they remain some of the most popular choices for players. With the one-year anniversary coming up, Epic Games announced a series of significant changes coming to the game type.

To begin with, Lego Fortnite will be renamed Lego Fortnite Odyssey. That's because Lego Fortnite will become the hub for anything Lego-related within the Fortnite ecosystem and provide players with an easy way to start up any Lego game mode.

Gaming

Fortnite is finally getting a first-person mode next week

Key art for Fortnite's new first person shooter mode Ballistic.

Fortnite Ballistic, the long-awaited first-person mode for Epic Games' hit battle royale shooter Fortnite, will finally come to the game on December 11.

Epic Games first teased a first-person Fortnite mode in March, but now we have a clearer idea of how it will play. Ballistic is a round-based 5v5 mode with no respawns, similar to competitive shooters like Valorant or Spectre Divide. A team of attackers fights to plant and detonate a Rift Point Device in certain spots on the map, while defenders fight to eliminate the other team before they can do the same. While attackers and defenders will swap their roles after six rounds, Ballistic matches are a best-of-seven affair across both ranked and unranked play.

Gaming

It only took 20 minutes for Fortnite OG to pass 1 million players

Fortnite OG Key Art

Fortnite OG isn't exactly a new mode -- it's come and gone several times before. What makes today's rollout special is that Fortnite OG is here to stay, and it's news that has delighted a lot of fans. Players have flocked back to Fortnite to play the nostalgia-riddled modes they remember.

In fact, within a mere 20 minutes of release, Fortnite OG had more than 1 million concurrent players in regular Fortnite and another 270,000 in Zero Build, Polygon reports. For context, that's about 1,822 times the maximum number of players Concord saw. Fortnite has always been a force of nature, but it has recently seen a surge of gamers like never before. As of right now, as we write this story, the game has 3,383,844 players, with its all-time high peak -- yes, of any of the previous years -- coming just five days ago with a whopping 14 million concurrent players.