Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., the developer behind the highly popular music-rhythm series Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Dance Central, have announced in a joint statement with Epic Games that Harmonix has been acquired by Epic, as part of a new initiative to continue developing what they describe as, "musical journeys and gameplay" for Fortnite.
Harmonix's most recent game, Fuser, was released last year, where players take the role of a DJ and remix famous songs from across many genres. Unlike many Harmonix games, Fuser does not require peripherals like Guitar Hero's plastic guitar.
Harmonix released an official statement on their blog, where they also answered several questions in a short Q&A.
Joining the Epic Games family. This is a monumental day for the team, and one that wouldn’t have been possible without years of support from you, our fans - thank you!
Over the last 26 years we have pushed ourselves to redefine how people experience and interact with music. From the earliest days of The Axe to Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central, our VR titles, FUSER, and everything in between, we have aspired to redefine what a music game can be.
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.
Epic Games have recently experimented with virtual concerts in Fortnite, featuring artists like Ariana Grande and Travis Scott. Despite this new acquisition, Harmonix still plans to release new content for Rock Band 4. This month alone, Harmonix released six new songs, which include Lil Nas X's famous "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" and "Shimmer" by Fuel. Just today, a new song by Olivia Newton-John was released for the game. Epic Games doesn't appear to interfere in Harmonix's continuing support, expressing their excitement on how the studio can add to the concert experiences.