Epic Games, the company best known for Fortnite and the Unreal Engine, has acquired Mediatonic, the studio behind Fall Guys.
The announcement was made today by both Epic and Mediatonic. Both companies have assured that, as far as Fall Guys goes, nothing will immediately change, and the game is still in development for other platforms. By the sound of it, the game will be getting features similar to games like Fortnite and Rocket League, namely "account systems, cross-play, squad vs squad modes etc". The game isn't currently going free-to-play.
As to the reasoning behind the buyout, it seems to be a mutually beneficial agreement. Mediatonic writes that it and Epic have "a lot in common and share a lot of the same goals". With the additional resources provided by the publisher, Mediatonic can "take the game to new (dizzying) heights".
What do you make of this news? Does this come as a surprise? Stumble into the comments section below.
[source epicgames.com]
Comments 31
The irony being the game is made in Unity.
Oof, a shame to see another indie dev go. I have a lot of respect for the peeps at Mediatonic and they have paid their dues over the years with a whole lot of projects for other devs. Can’t say I’m too happy to see them acquired but a silver lining is that Epic seemingly don’t have the same contempt for their subsidiaries as EA or ActiBlizz.
Getting delisted from Steam in t-minus 3, 2 1...
Its probably just a head hunt for the twitter guy they have.
Just to remember that Mediatonic is part of Tonic Game Group, a group with more than 250 employees (aiming to have more than 400 in the coming years). Epic bought the whole Tonic Game Group, and not just the Fallguys studio.
@ED_209 That’s a good point, I did wonder what was happening with the parent company.
Urghh, why do so many companies that make a successful product have to sell out to massive corporations.
@YeoSprings Probably to reinforce their longevity. Epic isn't going anywhere, so this is great for Tonic and all their employees.
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja Epic might not be going anywhere. But if in a few years time Epic may decide Fall guys is no longer pulling in big numbers. They may very well choose to shut the studio down.
Like what happens with EA, they milk a franchise for all it's worth. And then close the studio down when they have got all they can out of it.
For crying out loud, didn't Epic buy up the dev behind Rocket League, too? They just have to sink their hooks into anything remotely popular, don't they?
@YeoSprings but mediatonics next game could have been a flop and the studio could have closed. I don’t like all the devs ending up under a few super corporations but I understand why they would sell. Same reason the rest of us would if we made something successful, a safe stable future for them and their family.
@YeoSprings Isn't it dependent on the performance of the company? It doesn't sound right that a big company buys a little company, then just arbitrarily closes it. Seems like there might be other factors to consider, just throwing that out there.
NINJA APPROVED
Why do they even bother to explain themselves?
The sale is due to money. A person or group of people were offered an outrageous sum of money and, like most people, they took it.
Has Micro$oft bought Epic yet?
Sad news indeed
@tfo haha Micro$oft
Kinda surprised Epic have went for it in all honesty.
The hype for fall guys is long gone imo and growth, I'm assuming is now very limited too.
Congratulations mediatonic they deserve the payday.
The growth potential for falls guys is immense. It will be a smash hit again this summer. Switch sales alone will be worth it.
Whelp, it was fun while it lasted.
@Weebleman i love mr lehey!
@Mad001 the liqour smurf himself.
Epic will make this game better and extend its life by adding more and better events, plus with epics money they can add more new stages and modes at a faster pace to keep fhe game fresh.
Also can guarantee this game will go free to play within a few months just like rocket league did and rocket league is just still as good as it was before epic bought it
Also Epic somehow will use rocket league and fortnite to promote fall guys and cross overs such as marvel and star wars, Fall Guys is going to explode in the coming months
Not good... Unless you're working for Mediatonic of course. Devolver Digital are one of the most "hands off" publishers in the business so always sad to see an Indie end up in the corporate hands. I don't see Epic ruining Fall Guys, but it's sad in a way that an Indie Developers ultimate goal is to be acquired by "one of the big boys"
@YeoSprings You dont want too hear it just like me money.. ☹️
@tfo
Has Sony closed another company yet ?
Welp, goodbye to the incredibly fair item shop.
Never cared for Fall Guys but this is disappointing.
So about that Hogwarts game fiasco..
@2cents haha...I missed it when it was posted so
had to go on Twitter to read the outrage.
I played fall guys a bit when it came out and had a bit of fun but doubt I'll be back. Can't blame them for taking the money tho.
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