Epic Video games has gripped one other studio in a everlasting cash hug, this time buying Horizon Chase Turbo developer Aquiris to work on Fortnite.
The Brazil-based Aquiris was based in 2007 and went on to develop the well-received Wonderbox: The Journey Maker and Looney Tunes World of Mayhem for cell, in addition to its retro-inspired arcade racer Horizon Chase which launched in 2015.
A much-expanded – and critically acclaimed – follow-up, Horizon Chase Turbo, arrived in 2018, whisking the collection from cell to PC and consoles, and Aquiris launched a 3rd entry within the collection, Horizon Chase 2, on Apple Arcade on the finish of final yr.
Aquiris first linked arms with Epic in early 2022, when the Fortnite maker invested an undisclosed quantity within the studio and signed a publishing deal to supply quite a few video games. And now, Epic has introduced it is acquired Aquiris outright for an undisclosed sum, renaming it Epic Video games Brasil – the corporate’s first Latin America studio.
Sadly, it appears Epic’s earlier multi-game aspirations for Aquiris are not any extra, with at this time’s announcement saying the studio will now “leverage [its] expertise utilizing Unreal Engine on sport growth to contribute to the way forward for Fortnite”.
It appears like an analogous deal to Epic’s buy of Rock Band developer Harmonix again in 2021, which – regardless of a legacy of making genre-defining music titles – was put to work making nebulous “musical journeys and gameplay” for Fortnite after its acquisition.
“We’ve seen firsthand the spectacular skills of the Aquiris group in creating progressive video games that draw world attraction”, Epic’s Alain Tascan mentioned in a press release accompanying at this time’s information. “With the creation of Epic Video games Brasil, we look ahead to tapping into the immense expertise the area has to supply and establishing our presence in Latin America.”