Fall Guys Creator Snapped Up By Fortnite Developer Epic Games
Published: Mar 3, 2021 - Last Updated: Jul 24, 2023
UK-based studio Mediatonic, who are responsible for the smash hit obstacle race game Fall Guys, have been acquired by Epic Games.
Epic, who are responsible for the release of their own smash hit success Fortnite, as well as over 50 other titles, announced that a deal had been agreed between themselves and Mediatonic’s parent company, the Tonic Games Group, on Tuesday this week.
In addition to acquiring the Mediatonic studio, the terms of the deal will also see Epic own the publishing label The Irregular Corporation (whose releases include Murder By Numbers and PC Building Simulator) as well as the start-up studio Fortitude games.
The Tonic Games Group did make it onto the DEVELOP 100 list this year, but were not amongst the companies ranked on the list.
“Building The Metaverse”
Announcing the deal on Tuesday, the CEO and founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney commented:
“It’s no secret that Epic is invested in building the metaverse and Tonic Games shares this goal,”
“As Epic works to build this virtual future, we need great creative talent who know how to build powerful games, content, and experiences.”
Fans of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout don’t need to worry about the future of the game. Epic has moved to confirm that it has no plans to pull it from storefronts for the time being at least and that the company “will continue to invest in making the game a great experience for players across platforms.”
Similarly, Mediatonic have released a special blog post on their website to allay any concerns their fans may have about the future of Fall Guys. In the post they confirm their plans to continue developing the game and that the planned rollout on Nintendo Switch and Xbox later this year is still going ahead.
“Home That Was Made For Us”
Tonic Games Group CEO Dave Bailey was equally thrilled at his company now being owned by Epic Games as he remarked:
“With Epic, we feel like we have found a home that was made for us,”
“They share our mission to build and support games that have a positive impact, empower others and stand the test of time and we couldn’t be more excited to be joining forces with their team.”
The move to purchase a game studio is a relatively uncommon one for Epic Games, even though it has been busy acquiring companies in recent years.
This includes the 2019 purchase of Psyonix, developers of Rocket League, as well as the 2008 purchase of Chair Entertainment, the makers of Undertow.
Most of those acquisitions have been to improve the technology behind its Unreal Engine rather than standalone game development studios.
Further Enhancing Epic Games Appeal
The news of the acquisition of the company behind one of the most ground-breaking games of 2020 is big news for Epic Games and will certainly enhance their appeal.
While a private company at the moment, Epic Games are one of a number of such companies that have been mooted as potentially going public at some point in the future and there is no doubt that signing up companies like the Tonic Games Group will only enhance any future Epic Games stock price.
For now, though, fans of Fall Guys can rest easy knowing their game is in the hands of one of the most proven companies in the business.
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Since: August 10, 2015
