Epic Games has acquired Horizon Chase studio Aquiris to work on Fortnite

Epic Games has acquired Brazil-based Horizon Chase and Wonderbox studio Aquiris for an undisclosed sum.

The studio, which Epic first invested in in early 2022, will be the foundation of the company’s first Latin America studio, Epic Games Brasil.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in the city of Porto Alegre, Aquiris is joining Epic to work on its blockbuster Fortnite series.

“Joining Epic Games builds on our successes in creating memorable games including Wonderbox, Horizon Chase 2 and Looney Tunes World of Mayhem, which we will continue to operate,” said Aquiris CEO Mauricio Longoni, who is now studio director of Epic Games Brasil.

“We are delighted to leverage our experience using Unreal Engine on game development to contribute to the future of Fortnite. Aquiris has been on the forefront of game development in Brazil and Latin America, and becoming part of Epic Games will spotlight our region’s developers for the entire industry.”

“We’ve seen firsthand the impressive talents of the Aquiris team in creating innovative games that draw global appeal and we are excited to welcome them to Epic Games,” said Alain Tascan, executive vice president of game development at Epic.

“With the creation of Epic Games Brasil, we look forward to tapping into the immense talent the region has to offer and establishing our presence in Latin America.”

Epic’s last game studio acquisition was November 2021’s purchase of Rock Band and Dance Central creator Harmonix. At the time, Harmonix said it planned to “work with Epic to create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite”.

During its State of Unreal keynote at GDC last month, Epic announced the beta release of Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) alongside the launch of a new creator economy.

UEFN is a PC application for creating and publishing games and experiences directly into Fortnite.

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The game’s new creator economy centres around engagement payouts to eligible island publishers, including Epic, based on metrics including popularity and player retention.

Epic said it will put 40% of the net revenue from Fortnite’s Item Shop and related real-money purchases into the engagement pool and make payouts monthly.