Epic Games has acquired the video game studio Harmonix, the same studio that helped create music-based games such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central. Harmonix and Epic write that they plan to create new musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite.
Harmonix published the official announcement on the company’s blog. The blog post promises its fans that much will not change for any of its current projects, including the DLC for the latest rock band. Harmonix also claims that both companies “are not ready to share any details.”
Epic Games has made several high-end purchases in the last few years. In 2019, the company bought the Rocket League studio Psyonix and in early 2021 bought Fall Guys’ Mediatonic.
Epic Games’ acquisition will be Harmonix’s second major acquisition since the company was founded. After creating the early Guitar Hero games with RedOctane in the early 2000s, Harmonix was separated from RedOctane and acquired by Viacom. RedOctane was acquired by Activision, where the rights to Guitar Hero remain.
Under Viacom, the Rock Band video game franchise was created. Harmonix would later become independent again in 2010, and for the next eleven years the company would continue to create new musical games in the Rock Band and Dance Central series alongside Fuser.