Epic Games has acquired music game studio Harmonix

Epic Games has acquired the video game studio Harmonix, the same studio that helped create musical-based games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central. Harmonix and Epic write that they plan to create new musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite.

Harmonix made the official announcement on the company’s blog. The blog post promises its fans that much won’t change for any of its current projects, including DLC for the latest Rock Band. Harmonix also claims that both companies are “not ready to share any specifics.”

Epic Games has made several high-end purchases in the last few years. In 2019, the company acquired Rocket League studio Psyonix, and in early 2021 bought Fall Guys’ Mediatonic.

Epic Games’ purchase will be Harmonix’s second major acquirement since the company has been founded. After creating the early Guitar Hero games with RedOctane in the early 2000s, Harmonix separated from RedOctane and was purchased by Viacom. RedOctane was acquired by Activision, which is where the rights for 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, along with Fuser.