Following the surging success of Fortnite from Epic Games, the publisher has went on to acquire some surprising developers over the past year or two now. The most eye-opening still remains to be the purchase of Psyonix which developed Rocket League. Alike Fortnite, the buyout later led to the game going free-to-play across its available platforms.
But, the story did not end just there. Additionally, the Fortnite company went on to acquire developer Mediatonic during the rising popularity of Fall Guys in 2020. The firm has yet to illustrate its ambition for the game studio since the arrangement. More recently Epic Games also revealed to be the new owner for Harmonix (Rock Band, Fuser) as well.
In a expectation-shattering reveal this week, Epic Games is now in possession of community-centered music storefront Bandcamp.
Bandcamp’s mission is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans. In Epic, we’ve found a partner who believes as deeply as we do that the future of music, and art itself, depends on the creation of equitable and inclusive communities like the one our fans and artists have helped to build. We’re excited to work alongside the Epic team to accelerate the realization of our mission and pursue our shared goal of empowering more creators in a fair and open way.
Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp CEO
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games, Epic Games Store Vice President and General Manager Steve Allison added. “Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music. This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”
Diamond goes on to elaborate on the plans for Bandcamp following the deal. “Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team. The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site.
“However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.”
Are you surprised as many are about Epic Games acquisition of Bandcamp?
Source: Epic Games, Bandcamp
