Fortnite Creator Epic Games Buys The Developer Of Fall Guys, A Hit Pandemic Video Game

This Tuesday, North Carolina based Epic Games announced it had acquired Mediatonic Games. The studio, known for creating such notable hits as Amateur Surgeon 3, the Hatoful Boyfriend remake, and yes, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, announced on its own site what this would mean for fans the popular battle-royale going forward.

The short version, according to Mediatonic: Nothing. The game will remain playable on PlayStation and Steam, and the plans to release on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One and Series X/S remain unchanged.

"Joining forces with Epic will accelerate our plans to improve the game and bring Fall Guys to as many players as possible, while continuing to support the community", explained Mediatonic in the statement.

That's not to say nothing at all will change, however. Epic confirmed that Fall Guys will be available on the Epic Game Store, and both companies spoke of wanting to bring cross-play functionality, squad vs squad modes, account functionality and more to the game, but did not mention any details on when those features might be added to the title.

Fan reception to the move appears mixed. In the replies to the official Fall Guys twitter, some fans hope for a Fortnite/Fall Guys crossover event. However, others worry that Epic will remove the title from Steam, as to encourage more players to use the Epic Games Store.

Fall Guys was one of 2020's big hits, taking the spot for the most downloaded title offered to PlayStation Plus users, having been one of the free games in August. As of November 2020, it had shifted 10 million copies on Steam. The Switch and Xbox release was announced mid-February, and is expected to become available "this summer", with no specific date given.