Epic has announced a new game to join the Fortnite Family, simply titled Fortnite Festival. But what exactly is this game?
Fortnite Festival is a music game, that was developed in part by Harmonix. Harmonix, of course, was the original developer of Guitar Hero, and would go on to make Rock Band and Dance Central.
Epic shared this description, as reported by Dexerto:
“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 favorite artists.”
Fortnite Festival will be releasing on December 9, 2023, and that’s the extent of what we really know about this title.
It is easy to see what Epic was thinking when they commissioned Fortnite Festival. A lot of famous musicians are already working with Epic and Fortnite, bringing their music, their likenesses, and funnily enough, the most pivotal of them all, the small dances that go viral on Tiktok for these songs.
But to punctuate just how well set up Epic is to make this game, they have already been holding full concerts in Fortnite the game itself. They may sign some new artists to attract people, but there are already sufficient musicians working with them to make this endeavor worthwhile.
As for how they are monetizing Fortnite Festival, that’s easy to see too. Fortnite Festival is launching with The Weeknd as its first featured musician, and that launch is coming with several cosmetics that you can use while playing the game. The first Festival Pass is coming with these rewards:
Fortnite Festival Rewards
– New Microphone design
– 2 New Bass designs
– 3 Songs
– New Keytar Design
– New “Boombox” Aura
Other Rewards:
– Loading Screen
– The Weeknd Skin
Epic also went out of their way to explain that this title’s PEGI rating made mention of sexual references because the songs that they would be bringing have the sexual references.
The real mystery for now, that we don’t know the answer to yet, is how this game controls. How effective can you make a musical game with different instruments, if you don’t have instrument based peripherals. It’s certainly possible using conventional controls, but wouldn’t have any sense of immersion in it.
On the PC, using a mouse and keyboard would at least provide multiple options. But the touch screens of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets would be the most ideal platform for such games. Note here that Windows devices would be just as suitable as Android and iOS devices, as long as they are also touch screen enabled Windows devices.
On this and other questions, we at least know all will be revealed when the game releases on December 9, 2023.
