Epic Games acquires Rock Band developer Harmonix Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Epic Games acquires Rock Band developer Harmonix To "create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite". News by Matt Wales Reporter Updated on 23 Nov 2021 43 comments Harmonix, the developer behind the likes of Rock Band and last year's music mixing title Fuser, has been acquired by Epic Games to "create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite." Harmonix was founded in 1995 and began carving a rhythm-action niche for itself with the 2001 release of celebrated PS2-exclusive Frequency and its much-loved sequel Amplitude. 2005 saw the studio release Guitar Hero, arguably its most impactful game to date, which would go on to spawn a steady succession of sequels - although the developer would soon leave the series behind to expand on Guitar Hero's plastic instrument premise with 2007's Rock Band. Since then, Harmonix has continued to focus on music games, releasing the likes of Dance Central, 2016's Amplitude revival, the VR-focussed Audica and, most recently, Fuser - all of which brings us to today and the announcement of the studio's acquisition by Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer Epic Games. Watch on YouTube Fortnite - Rift Tour featuring Ariana Grande. "Over the last 26 years we have pushed ourselves to redefine how people experience and interact with music," Harmonix wrote in a post announcing the acquisition. "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." Harmonix's announcement concludes with a FAQ confirming it will continue releasing DLC for Rock Band, will push ahead with Season 25 of Rock Band Rivals, and will continue its current plans for Fuser events. Additionally, it says it won't be changing the way it supports its older games, meaning the acquisition won't result in any game servers being taken offline or existing titles being removed from Steam and consoles. As for the future away from its current games, Harmonix says it will be be working with Epic to create "musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite", which will presumably feed into the kind of grandiose mega-budget marketing opportunities that have seen the likes of Ariana Grande promote themselves in Fortnite using elaborate digital shows. Whether that'll be Harmonix's soul focus beyond support for its existing titles remains to be seen, but the developer says to "stay tuned" for the first fruits of its new partnership with Epic. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store