Why it matters: Tonic Games has just merged with Epic Games. The holding company owns Fall Guys developer Mediatonic. Fall Guys has seen more than 11 million downloads on Steam alone since its August 2020 launch. It was also the most downloaded freebie in PlayStation Plus history. The mutually beneficial deal gives Epic another potential cash cow, while giving Tonic the resources and freedom to expand and build. It’s a win-win.
On Tuesday, Mediatonic received word that its runaway hit Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has been nominated for five BAFTA awards. Coincidentally, the news came at right about the same time that Epic Games announced the completion of a deal to pick up the studio’s parent company Tonic Games Group. The acquisition also brings studio Fortitude Games and publisher Irregular Corporation under the Epic umbrella.
Epic insists that the Fall Guys gameplay will not be changing as a result of the merger. However, in a separate blog post, Mediatonic says it wants to implement some elements from Fortnite and Rocket League into its battle-royale style obstacle course. It mentions account systems, cross-play, and squad versus squad as features it hopes to bring to Fall Guys.
— Fall Guys 4041 🤖 SOON (@FallGuysGame) March 2, 2021
Tonic Games leadership seemed enthusiastic about the merger in the press release.
“At Tonic Games Group we often say that ‘everyone deserves a game that feels like it was made for them.’ With Epic, we feel like we have found a home that was made for us,” said Tonic Games Group CEO and Co-Founder Dave Bailey.
“Beyond the shared vision among our teams, we see tremendous potential in combining forces with Epic,” said Chief Games Officer and Co-Founder Paul Croft. “Whether it’s about making our own games the best they can be or empowering other game developers to take their content from a kernel of an idea to commercial success, we know that together we will be able to reach greater heights.”
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout launched last August and recently announced its fourth season in a teaser with a definite 1980s VHS vibe (above).
Since starting, the Fall Guys team has grown from 35 to more than 150 employees. With Epic’s backing, the team should be able to keep churning out content season after season, just as Fortnite has for several years now.
Fall Guys is currently out on PlayStation 4|5 and PC via Steam. Nintendo Switch and Xbox ports are coming this summer, and presumably, it will soon be available on Epic’s storefront.