Fortnite Creator Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp

Bandcamp co-founder Ethan Diamond will retain his role as the company's CEO.

Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, is reportedly acquiring popular music platform Bandcamp.

The acquisition is the latest move in the gaming juggernaut's foray into the music creator economy. This afternoon, Bandcamp shared a blog post penned by Ethan Diamond, its co-founder and CEO, announcing that the company is joining the Epic Games family. Neither Epic Games nor Bandcamp have disclosed financial details, but key infrastructure moves have come to light.

Diamond will continue to serve as Bandcamp's CEO and his team will "keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community." In his announcement, Diamond reassured users that the platform they know and love will remain intact after the acquisition while lauding Epic for championing a "fair and open Internet."

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.

Diamond then shifts focus to what Epic Games will bring to the table, stating that the gaming giant will assist in Bandcamp's international expansion, application and website development, livestream technology, and even their efforts to press vinyl records.

The acquisition may seem random at first glance, but Epic Games' expansion plans have incorporated music tech for some time. Their most popular game, Fortnite, has hosted many interactive concert experiences from major artists like Marshmello, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande and more.

In 2019 Epic acquired Psyonix, the developers behind Rocket League, which features one of the most impressive electronic music soundtracks in gaming. The company also recently acquired Harmonix, the minds behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

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