Fortnite’s mystery ‘superstar’ virtual music tour kicks off next week
Epic Games is teasing the biggest in-game event since Travis Scott psychedelically stomped through Fortnite's virtual meadows.
The mysterious new event, which Fortnite-maker Epic is calling the Rift Tour," will kick off on Friday, August 6 and run through Sunday, August 8. In the teaser announcement, Epic invites players to take a musical journey into magical new realities where Fortnite and a record-breaking superstar collide."
Escape into the Rift
Take a musical journey to magical new realities and drop into the Rift Tour August 6-8 https://t.co/1ljUFhYrL5 pic.twitter.com/GFIUYB5hGC
- Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 29, 2021
In-game events building up to the mystery show series will run from July 29 through August 8, so players can hop into Fortnite to check out new Rift Tour-themed quests and rewards now. The cotton-candy-colored event will offer a custom loading screen and a fluffy cloud kitty emoticon, among other digital prizes.
The Rift Tour isn't a one-and-done event. Like the Travis Scott event, Fortnite will host five different show times across three days to make it easier for players to catch. Epic says they'll have more details to share on Monday, August 2, so Fortnite players will have to wait for more hints or an official announcement about who's performing.
So ... who's performing? So far, all signs point to Ariana Grande. Leakers have been saying as much for more than a week, and the documents revealed through Epic's court battle with Apple also detailed plans for in-game events with both Grande and Lady Gaga.
Image Credits: Epic Games
Wave opens the door for musicians looking for a metaverse' beyond Fortnite
At Forbes, Paul Tassi also connected the dots on how recent leaks point to Grande, including some visual themes from her music videos and a reference to her pet pig Piggy Smalls.
Since Epic is calling its latest virtual event a tour, that suggests Grande won't be alone, if she is indeed the mystery superstar. A Lady Gaga appearance could also be in the cards, since Epic apparently had plans for Gaga to appear in a December 2020 concert that never materialized. Kanye West is also releasing his newest album on August 6, but it seems less likely that Epic would be willing to partner with West given his myriad recent controversies. And Donda," West's latest album, was originally scheduled for a different date before being delayed.
Whoever it winds up being, we'll likely know more on Monday. Even if you're not a Grande fan or a regular gamer, Fortnite's in-game concerts are some of the most creative and visually exciting virtual events to date.
Everyone should fall through the metaverse with their friends while a skyscraper-sized virtual rapper shoots neon lightning bolts at least once.
Fortnite hosted a psychedelic Travis Scott concert and 12.3M people watched
We need more video games that are social platforms first, games second