Fortnite virtual concert draws record 14m players
Online video game Fortnite has announced a new virtual concert record after drawing 14.3 million concurrent players to Remix: The Finale on Saturday (30 November).
The concert, which featured performances by Snoop Dogg, Ice Spice, Eminem, and a posthumous tribute to Juice WRLD, significantly surpassed the previous record of 12.3 million concurrent players for the Travis Scott concert in 2020.
It also surpassed the records set by Snoop Dogg & Ice Spice’s Times Square event earlier this year, the Big Bang event featuring Eminem concert in 2023 and the Doctor Doom fight this year.
The 15-minute Remix: The Finale showcased unique “dreamscapes” for each artist, culminating in a special moment dedicated to Juice WRLD.
The late rapper’s world premiere of Empty Out Your Pockets served as a finale, with players transforming into crystal butterfly forms during the performance.
The concert significantly surpassed the previous record of 12.3 million concurrent players for the Travis Scott concert in 2020
In addition to the 14.3 million concurrent players that joined the concert, more than three million people streamed it online according to Fortnite.
The game’s largest event of any kind was for the fictional Marvel character Galactus in 2020, which drew 15.3 million players.
Fortnite‘s virtual concerts gained enormous traction during the Covid-19 pandemic but the game has consistently drawn impressive audiences through concerts with A-list stars and partnerships with festivals such as Coachella.
The game has also continued to trial new formats, from playable concerts with acts including Karol G to the Fortnite Festival game mode headlined by the likes of The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Metallica.
Other artists that have performed in the game include Ariana Grande, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin.
In November 2021, Epic Games acquired Rock Band and Guitar Hero creator Harmonix “to create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite”.
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Fortnite announces ‘playable concert’ by Karol G
Online video game Fortnite has announced a ‘playable concert’ with Latin superstar Karol G as part of its Festival Season 5.
Karol G MSB Fortnite is billed as a five-part visual journey through the Colombian singer’s life and music career, which runs from 23–26 August.
Karol G songs available to play in the Fortnite Festival rhythm music game include Oki Doki, Provenza (Remix), Cairo and Qlona.
Players can also purchase an upgrade called Premium Reward Track which will unlock Karol G-themed items including the Bichota Season Karol G Outfit, the Bichota Mic, and the Bichota 6-String Guitar.
While Fortnite itself is developed by Epic Games, the Festival game mode is developed by Harmonix – the studio behind the Rock Band video game franchise. Harmonix was acquired by Epic in November 2021 to develop Fortnite experiences.
Karol G songs available to play in the Fortnite Festival rhythm music game include Oki Doki, Provenza (Remix), Cairo and Qlona
Karol G is the latest musical icon to appear in Fortnite Festival, following in the footsteps of Metallica, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish.
The reggaeton star recently wrapped her Mañana Será Bonito Tour, which sold more than two million tickets, grossed $300 million and shattered attendance and revenue records in Europe, the US and Latin America.
The latest edition of IQ goes behind the scenes of the year-long tour to find out how her crew and advisors cope with the ever-growing fanbase and the demands they make on Latin America’s newest megastar.
“We always knew [the tour] was going to be big – there was such a level of demand and excitement – but we didn’t know how big,” Live Nation’s Joe Schiavon, the tour’s promoter, told IQ.
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The Weeknd to headline Fortnite Festival game mode
Online video game Fortnite has confirmed The Weeknd as the first headlining act for its new Festival game mode.
“Fortnite Festival is a new music game where players can play in a band with friends or perform solo on stage with hit music by their favourite artists,” according to a release.
Launching on 9 December, the game will be the first entirely music-focused mode to be introduced to the hugely popular, six-year-old Battle Royale game.
While Fortnite itself is developed by Epic Games, the Festival game mode is being developed by Harmonix – the studio behind the Rock Band video game franchise.
Fortnite last month experienced the biggest day in the game’s history with over 44.7 million players logging on
It was reported in November 2021 that Epic had acquired Harmonix to develop Fortnite experiences.
Music has become an increasing focus for Epic, following the success of virtual concerts inside of Fortnite from the likes of Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, Marshmello, Travis Scott, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin.
“Music is already bringing millions of people together in Fortnite, from our emotes to global concerts and events,” Alain Tascan, Epic’s VP of game development, said of acquiring Harmonix.
In April this year, Coachella returned to Fortnite with a new virtual world called Coachella Island, along with mini-games, art installations, festival-themed merch, and virtual recreations of the festival’s hallmarks such as the ferris wheel.
Epic last month experienced the biggest day in the game’s history with over 44.7 million players logging on and 102 million hours of play for the launch of Fortnite OG, featuring the game’s original map.
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Coachella returns to Fortnite
Coachella is returning to Epic Games’ Fortnite with the official launch of Coachella Island for this weekend’s festival.
The Goldenvoice-promoted festival’s 2023 edition is scheduled for Indio, California from 14-16 and 21-23 April, headlined by Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean.
Starting at 3pm ET tomorrow (14 April), Coachella Island is billed as a new destination for creator-made music and art experiences, marking “a continuation of Fortnite and Coachella’s shared commitment to showcase, empower and reward artists”.
Inspired by the festival’s landscape, the “music-reactive” island has been built by creators from Alliance Studios and features desert mountains, polo fields, palm trees and day to night cycles.
Alongside virtual replicas of Coachella art installations including Spectra, the Coachella Ferris Wheel and balloon chains, the Art Park features two new art installations from Maggie West and Güvenç Özel, reimagined for the virtual world.
“The future of in-game music and art experiences should not mimic the real-world, but reimagine the magic and make it more accessible via a new medium”
Players will be able to explore the park, as well as take part in team vs. team minigames, and purchase 2023 Coachella-inspired Outfits and in-game items from the merch tent, accompanied by a soundscape by Coachella 2023 performer Porter Robinson.
The new Ask Me and Slide Stride Emotes, meanwhile, will feature music by Bad Bunny and Burna Boy. Players can also turn into Icon Radio in-game to enjoy songs from artists featured on Coachella’s 2023 line-up.
“The future of in-game music and art experiences should not mimic the real-world, but reimagine the magic and make it more accessible via a new medium,” says Sam Schoonover, innovation lead for Coachella. “We believe that the best way to do that is to enable and empower artists to show us the way. Just like the festival IRL is a stage for musicians, Coachella Island is now a canvas for gaming creators. Fortnite provides the tools needed to invite creators and fans to participate in this creative process.”
It was recently confirmed that, for the first time ever, YouTube will livestream performances from all six stages at Coachella on both weekends of the festival.
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The Kid LAROI announces Fornite experience
Australian rapper The Kid LAROI has confirmed details of his ‘Wild Dreams’ Fortnite experience, which will include unreleased music.
The experience, set to launch this Friday 27 January, will be “an immersive, interactive musical experience portraying LAROI’s journey from humble beginnings to headlining sold-out performances as a worldwide superstar”.
According to the announcement, the Fortnite experience will feature The Kid LAROI’s new single ‘Love Again’ alongside three, unreleased tracks.
“In this interactive experience, players will quest throughout the cybercity ‘Laroitown’, ultimately attending a jam-packed LAROI concert featuring fan-favorite music and new music. Following the performance, players can join LAROI for the Afterparty. In the Afterparty, listen to the Wild Dreams mix on loop and get a look at the life of LAROI — both on tour and beyond.”
The ‘Wild Dreams’ experience will also include quests, with players able to earn XP and special The Kid LAROI items
The ‘Wild Dreams’ experience will also include quests, with players able to earn XP and special The Kid LAROI items.
Ahead of the experience, players can compete in a special cup from today for the opportunity to unlock Kid LAROI-inspired outfits, alongside a special banner icon and emoticon.
To participate, players must select the ‘The Kid LAROI Wild Dreams’ tile on the discover screen or enter the island code 2601-0606-9081.
In recent months, Fortnite has collaborated with the likes of Metallica, Charlie Puth, Wu-Tang Clan and Silk Sonic.
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iHeart Media to stage Charlie Puth Fortnite gig
iHeartMedia is to launch its new metaverse destination iHeartLand inside the video game Fortnite with a concert by Charlie Puth.
Puth will deliver a two-part performance at iHeartLand’s “first-of-its-kind” virtual entertainment venue State Farm Park at 7pm ET on 9 September, followed by an album release party in celebration of his upcoming LP, CHARLIE.
The American singer-songwriter will share new music from the record and host an interactive game designed to test fan knowledge in the run-up to the show, which will mark Puth’s first concert in the metaverse.
Built using Fortnite’s Creative toolset, State Farm Park in iHeartLand will host 20 major events across the music and podcasting space over the next year, including unique artist-fan experiences that can be unlocked through gameplay.
“Our goal is to meet audiences where they are – delivering innovative, incredible programming to constantly challenge ourselves to take entertainment to the next level,” says Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. “iHeartLand will feature a full calendar of music and podcast performances at State Farm Park that give fans a chance to play and interact with shows and artists in awesome new ways.”
“This new world allows us to extend the reach of today’s biggest creators, artists and personalities in groundbreaking ways”
iHeartLand will undergo periodic changes and refreshes, including the introduction of new mini-games.
“From interactive performances and intimate backstories to immersive game play, native to the platform – this new world allows us to extend the reach of today’s biggest creators, artists and personalities in groundbreaking ways, and is a big next step for iHeartMedia in expanding our engagement with our users,” adds Byrne.
Since debuting its first in-game concert in 2019, Fortnite developer Epic Games has facilitated events such as Soundwave Series, the Rift Tour with Ariana Grande, Travis Scott’s record-breaking Astronomical shows and gigs by the likes of Marshmello, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J Balvin.
“What iHeartMedia and the team at Atlas Creative have created is a compelling look at a future of Fortnite where artists and brands can independently and authentically connect with fans in new and persistent ways at scale,” adds Matthew Henick, VP, metaverse development for Epic Games. “We can’t wait for players to experience all of the incredibly ambitious content that iHeartLand has planned in the coming months.”
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Pokémon GO announces Ed Sheeran concert
Pokémon Go has announced an exclusive performance from Ed Sheeran, slated to appear in the AR mobile game next week.
Sheeran’s pre-recorded set, which includes hits such as ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’, will be available in the News section of the app from 22–30 November.
The singer’s favourite Pokémon, Squirtle, will also appear in the game, along with branded ‘=’ sweatshirts that players can dress their avatar in.
In-game events have proved to be big business for Niantic, with this year’s Go Fest event reportedly bringing in $21m
In-game events have proved to be big business for Pokémon Go developer Niantic, with this year’s Go Fest event reportedly bringing in around $21 million in revenue over the course of two days, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.
With the Ed Sheeran event, Niantic appears to be moving in the same direction as Fortnite and Roblox, which have been leading the way for in-game music events.
Pokémon’s previous in-game music events include a virtual concert headlined by Post Malone, which was part of the franchise’s 25th-anniversary celebrations.
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Facebook surges ahead in race to create metaverse
Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people to accelerate its development of a so-called metaverse – a virtual world in which people can work, game, play and even watch concerts.
The word ‘metaverse’ – made up of the prefix ‘meta’ (meaning beyond) and the stem ‘verse’ (a back-formation from “universe”) – is typically used to describe the future iteration of the internet, made up of permanent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe.
Using technologies like virtual and augmented reality, Facebook says it hopes to create a greater sense of “virtual presence” in the metaverse that will “mimic the experience of interacting in person”.
Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its priorities, investing in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets and building VR apps for social hangouts and for the workplace.
In 2018, the tech giant expanded into VR live events, including concerts, with the launch of its social events app Oculus Venues.
Facebook invested $50 million in funding non-profit groups to help “build the metaverse responsibly”
The app enabled users of its Oculus Go and Gear VR headsets to watch live music and sports alongside other virtual-reality avatars.
In 2020, Occulus partnered with artist-owned streaming platform Tidal to bring a series of exclusive and intimate live performances that can be streamed in virtual reality to fans’ homes.
More recently it invested $50 million in funding non-profit groups to help “build the metaverse responsibly”.
However, Facebook claims the metaverse “won’t be built overnight by a single company” and has promised to collaborate.
A number of massive tech-centric companies that have vested interests in music, such as Tencent and Alibaba, are also investigating how to build a metaverse.
Roblox’s global head of music told IQ in January that he thinks the metaverse will be bigger than the internet and mobile
Over the course of several years, Epic Games has been expanding its hugely popular online multiplayer game Fortnite to host virtual concerts and brand events within its own virtual world.
Ariana Grande, Marshmello, Travis Scott, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin are among the artists that have delivered virtual concerts within the game.
Other games are getting closer to a metaverse idea, too. Roblox, for example, is an online community where people come together to play, create and explore millions of 3D virtual worlds together with their friends.
The online gaming platform has also incorporated virtual concerts into its offering with performances from the likes of Royal Blood and Lil Nas X and Twenty One Pilots.
Roblox’s global head of music, Jon Vlassopulos, told IQ in January that he thinks the metaverse will be bigger than the internet and mobile.
Startup companies including Stage11, AmazeVR, Stageverse and Sensorium have also announced ambitions to develop a metaverse.
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Fortnite plans virtual concerts for new Soundwave Series
Epic Games has announced the next set of immersive virtual performances coming to Fortnite, under the banner ‘Soundwave Series’.
The series will kick off on 1 October with Egyptian musician Mohamed Hamaki, who has previously been featured on Fortnite Radio.
Hamaki’s show will repeat non-stop for 48 hours so that so it can be accessed at any time over the period. The experience will feature the first performance of his new song ‘Leilt Elomr‘ (‘the night of the order’) and a special emote created just for the first show of the Soundwave Series.
Other acts slated to perform during the Soundwave Series include Australian singer-songwriter Tones And I, Brazilian rapper Emicida, Japanese pop artist and music producer Gen Hoshino, and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura.
“The Soundwave Series will introduce incredible crossover artists from around the world to millions of new fans”
“Music transcends any language, and has been a beloved part of Fortnite’s journey since our first in-game concert in 2019,” says Nate Nanzer, VP of global partnerships at Epic Games.
“The Soundwave Series continues that legacy and will introduce incredible crossover artists from around the world to millions of new fans inside Fortnite Creative, where there are virtually no limits on what can be designed by our community.”
The Soundwave Series builds on the success of Fortnite‘s recent Rift Tour with Ariana Grande, as well as Travis Scott’s record-breaking Astronomical concerts.
Marshmello, Travis Scott, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin have also delivered virtual concerts in Fortnite.
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Ariana Grande to headline Fortnite’s Rift Tour
Ariana Grande will be the next artist to perform an in-game concert for the hugely popular multiplayer video game, Fortnite.
The Grammy award-winning artist is set to headline the forthcoming Rift Tour, a virtual ‘musical experience’ that will take place within the online game.
The Rift Tour comprises five shows in early August: Friday 6 August at 18:00 ET, Saturday 7 August at 14:00 ET and Sunday 6 August at 00:00 ET, 10:00 ET and 18:00 ET.
“Working with Epic and the Fortnite team to bring my music to life inside the game has been so fun and such an honour,” says Grande. “I can’t wait to join my fans and see all of your reactions to such an unforgettable, magical journey to new realities.”
“Fortnite is a place for the imagination and the impossible”
“Fortnite is a place for the imagination and the impossible. With the Rift Tour, we’re bringing a musical journey to life that players can experience, feel, and join alongside their friends,” says Phil Rampulla, head of brand for Fortnite developer Epic Games.
“We’re so grateful to have an iconic superstar like Ariana Grande and her team join us for a musical experience at metaverse scale, and for players and fans alike to experience the Rift Tour!”
Republic Records-signed Ariana Grande is the latest artist to perform within Fortnite, after the likes of Marshmello, Travis Scott, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin.
The singer’s performance follows a virtual show at the in-game O2 in June, which was performed by the UK act Easy Life.
The iconic London venue became the first real-world arena to get its own venue in Fortnite.
Watch a teaser for Ariana Grande’s appearance on the Rift Tour below.
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