Epic Games has announced that it is acquiring developer Mediatonic, the studio behind last year’s hit game, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Executive from both groups had remarks about the new purchase, including Epic CEO Tim Sweeney.
“It’s no secret that Epic is invested in building the metaverse and Tonic Games shares this goal,” said Sweeney. “As Epic works to build this virtual future, we need great creative talent who know how to build powerful games, content and experiences.”
Epic Games clarified that the gameplay experience with Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout across PC and PlayStation, as well as Nintendo Switch and Xbox later this year, will not be affected. Mediatonic also stated that Fall Guys will remain purchasable on Steam. This is notable because Epic Games purchased developer Psyonix in 2019 and, over a year later, put out a notice saying that Rocket League would be delisted from Steam, which ultimately occurred on Sept 23.
HUGE NEWS!@Mediatonic are pleased to announce that we've joined the @EpicGames family!
What does this mean? I'm glad you asked!
FAQ:https://t.co/QpiEHemUca pic.twitter.com/ZcGaoooljz
— Fall Guys (@FallGuysGame) March 2, 2021
As for the reason that they joined forces, Mediatonic said among other reasons that Epic’s games like Fortnite and Rocket League had many features such as unified accounts systems, cross-play, and squad modes that would ultimately benefit Fall Guys.
Rocket League became free to play last summer after Psyonix merged with Epic Games. However, Mediatonic currently has nothing to announce on whether Fall Guys will take the same route. In the meantime, the game will continue to be updated on all platforms, and it will still be releasing on Nintendo Switch and Xbox.