With massive superstars jumping at the opportunity to work with Epic Games, and potentially expand their user base, it doesn’t seem like Fortnite will move away from working with artists anytime soon.Fortnite's special Rift Tour event has now come to a close, but don't worry if you missed it – the whole thing's available to watch (or rewatch) up above.
Musically, the experience plays like a greatest hits collection, featuring tracks like “Positions,” “REM” and 2013 Mac Miller collaboration “The Way.”įortnite was quick to release viewership numbers after the Travis Scott show, but Rampulla wouldn’t commit to releasing numbers around Grande’s weekend in Fortnite. In the aftermath of the explosion, players hover in the air among rainbows, watching fireworks explode in the surrounding air. In the final few minutes of the show, Grande sings “Positions” while floating above ice before smashing it with her giant gavel, sending the artist and the audience back up into the clouds. Those purchases add up, but Epic Games declined to reveal how compensation has been handled for Grande. Players can also purchase a bundle of all these items for about $28.
Sold in Fortnite’s virtual currency, “V-bucks,” Grande’s cosmetics set includes a skin for the equivalent of about $20 a diamond gavel for about $8 a glider for about $12 and a ride-able unicorn for about $5. That doesn’t include revenue from virtual goods that artists can sell Fortnite players in the form of skins (avatar outfits), gear (for fighting) and emotes (which lend the ability to act out expressions). “We reached out with some of the broad strokes of the ideas and she immediately jumped in and we just took off and the rest is history.” It likely doesn’t hurt that Ariana and Fortnite may benefit from introducing their fanbases to one another either.Īt the time of “Astronomical,” an industry source told Billboard that Scott received a multimillion-dollar fee upfront, and that artist deals can also include a back-end bonus once the event reaches certain viewership metrics. “What we always look for in a partner is someone who’s willing to take some risks, someone who’s willing to try something new,” Rampulla says. Unlike Travis Scott, Grande isn’t publicly involved in the video game community, making her an unorthodox choice for one of the world’s most popular games.
“It’s hard to really think of anybody better at the moment,” Rampulla says of Grande. Players will experience different effects during the show depending on their choice of avatar outfit or wrap (which changes the appearance of weapons and vehicles), encouraging them to go back for multiple showings. The flipped view references Grande’s upside-down album covers for Thank U, Next and Sweetener, which the pop star has said symbolized her emotional state at the time, and it’s just one of several Easter eggs The Rift Tour leaves for super-fans - including a virtual version of Grande’s real-life pet pig, Piggy Smallz.
Game On: What Travis Scott is Teaching Music Stars About the World’s Biggest New (Virtual)…ĭuring the roughly 10-minute experience, players bounce atop hot pink beds of plants as if they were trampolines, fly inside glistening bubbles in the sky as Grande sways in a swing held up by clouds and follow Grande up marble staircases that turn upside-down the higher you go.