FORTNITE FESTIVAL TO GET HUNDREDS OF FREE SONGS PER YEAR AND LEGACY INSTRUMENT SUPPORT

March has marked the launch of Fortnite Festival, a mode in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 that has revitalized the game beyond its renown as a Battle Royale title. This innovative addition follows over a decade since rhythm-music games faded from the limelight, resulting in countless plastic instruments being relegated to the back of our closets.

Harmonix, once known for its iconic contributions to the genre with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, is channeling its efforts towards enticing the rhythm game enthusiasts of yesteryear and a new, vast audience on the Fortnite platform.

In a dialogue with Game Informer, Harmonix's leader, Alex Rigopolous, shared insights into where the Fortnite Festival is heading. Just like the existing Fortnite Item Shop, the Festival feature offers a rotating array of songs daily for players to enjoy without cost, and these tunes can be acquired for permanent collections.

The game has incorporated a diverse array of tunes from multiple musicians, including Kendrick Lamar and The White Stripes. Nevertheless, Alex Rigopolous of Harmonix reveals loftier visions for the Fortnite Festival, intending to unveil fresh tunes weekly. The goal is to amass over a hundred tracks yearly, ultimately building toward an expansive compilation of several thousand melodies for the feature.

He shared their strategy, explaining that players will experience a constant inflow of fresh, hit songs each week, all available for free play – a groundbreaking move in the music game scene.

Fresh hardware is also part of the revival, as PDP Gaming hinted that new musical instruments may hit the shelves by January 2024, a significant moment as it's been years since instrument peripherals were in production.

Harmonix is also exploring integrating instrument support into the Fortnite Festival, with data miners uncovering distinctive instrument charts, including those for drums. Despite this progress, Alex Rigopolous clarified that their expansion into hardware isn't a collaboration with Epic Games but rather a third-party initiative that could usher in a new wave of players seeking rhythm games like Clone Hero and YARG.

He emphasized that although Harmonix isn't manufacturing new instruments, there's a newfound momentum within third-party companies to do so, potentially reigniting the market for peripherals.

Those who've held onto their old Guitar Hero or Rock Band instruments might find their patience rewarded. Harmonix intends to make these compatible with the Fortnite Festival, fulfilling the wishes of nostalgic music game fans.

Anticipation is also building around the playlist expansion, with expectations of hitting the notes to iconic tracks such as Linkin Park's "Numb" or Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." Likely, high-energy songs, like Metallica's "Master of Puppets" – already familiar to Fortnite players as an emote – will become playable once instrument support is established to accommodate the challenge of performing complex solos and riffs without traditional gaming controllers.

In 2024, Fortnite Festival is set to support UEFN, enabling enthusiasts to design unique experiences, possibly featuring custom songs and maps. This could revolutionize various gaming styles, incorporating rhythm mechanics into shooting, fighting, or racing modes and fostering an even broader range of interactive entertainment within the Fortnite universe.