JOGO, a sport studio began by standard creator Typical Gamer, has doubled down on Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) video games by buying RHQ Artistic.
Typical Gamer, whose actual identify is Andre Rebello, has greater than 30 million followers as a result of folks love to observe him play Fortnite. However a few years in the past, he crossed the road and began making video games through Epic Video games’ instruments for user-generated content material on UEFN. He constructed the enterprise to a staff of 20 folks and their maps have generated greater than 400 million performs. That has became an actual enterprise.
And it’s why JOGO is shopping for RHQ Artistic, a builder of UEFN coaching maps with 20 million map visits and 200 million hours of play time. The concept is to launch a “Pro” line of maps in Fortnite, as RHQ is run by one other Fortnite star, Quinn Gannon, AKA RichHomieQuinn (hyperlink). Gannon has greater than 500,000 followers and he has additionally been in a position to making a residing as professional Fortnite participant.
“We’re super excited to be bringing our RHQ Creative and Quinn into the JOGO fold,” mentioned Rebello, CEO of JOGO, in an unique interview with GamesBeat. “We just see the future Fortnite, especially in the competitive realm, as a very stable and awesome player base. And so far, JOGO maps have mostly been casual maps, with some competitiveness to them. But we have mostly casual player bases versus this opportunity to really implant it to ourselves in the competitive space. We wanted someone like Quinn who really understands that space and understands that player to bring his expertise over.”
“Welcoming Quinn and the RHQ team onboard is a huge win,” mentioned Rebello, often known as Typical Gamer, one in all Fortnite’s most recognizable personalities. “Not just because he’s a veteran map builder and pro competitor, but because he understands what it takes to design for a different kind of player. This deal opens up a whole new lane for JOGO, and it’s just the beginning.”
Rebelo added, “We’re in a strong position to keep growing, keep investing, and keep building experiences that meet players wherever they are. Whether you’re logging on for the first time or grinding for the next FNCS, JOGO will be there for all of it.”
This is among the first studio acquisitions in UEFN, and RHQ Artistic will deliver a number of extra folks to JOGO’s staff with a specialty concentrate on skill-building and aggressive coaching maps for aspiring skilled gamers.
RichHomieQuinn has earned a cult following for its thoughtfully designed aggressive coaching maps, optimized for repeatability, enchancment, and enjoyable. JOGO expects to have the ability to speed up RHQ Artistic’s map progress by integrating JOGO’s high-quality artistic and publishing infrastructure.
“I was a professional Fortnite player. I’ve been competing in Fortnite since 2019 and I was one of the top players on my region, and I also was able to build a community through coaching and helping develop players,” mentioned Quinn, in an interview. “When I ended up getting into UEFN, I developed maps that I could practice on while also being able to help teach newer players.”
Quinn coached Rebello in a solo match a number of years in the past. They ended up enjoying duos collectively, and so they developed a friendship — and so they competed in critical tournaments. They’ve tried to develop their experience in quite a lot of areas, and so they’re doing the identical making Fortnite maps.
“We want to make sure that provide the most value for the player,” Rebello mentioned.
JOGO’s maps have had greater than 400 million performs, mentioned Chad Mustard, COO of JOGO, in an interview with GamesBeat. JOGO has achieved round a dozen maps, whereas RHQ has 11 maps. A few of these maps might take a number of days to create, however others could take greater than six months.
“If we’re not the biggest, we’re one of the top studios in the space, and acquiring another studio is significant. That shows the growth of the UEFN space is strong,” he mentioned.
Mustard has 1,000,000 followers, however he acknowledges he can’t compete on the identical stage as Gannon and Rebello. However he does get pleasure out of constructing new maps.
“If I would try to play against them, I wouldn’t be able to be able to move,” he . However I can go in and construct some superior expertise, and it’s actually enjoyable.”
As Typical Gamer, Rebello began making tutorial movies for Crimson Useless Redemption again in 2009. He began getting a whole bunch of 1000’s of views, and now it seems like he has come full circle, as doing coaching maps for gamers is supposed to assist them discover ways to play the sport.
Gannon likes to play, however when he got here to UEFN, he obtained a variety of satisfaction out of serving to others develop their abilities.
“I love being part of their journey,” he mentioned.
The way forward for sport growth
Typical Gamer needs to construct the way forward for sport growth, which incorporates each type of participant, from explorers to elite grinders. The acquisition provides instant coaching area experience, map efficiency information, and design sensibility tuned to the skilled or pro-aspiring participant because it expands into the aggressive style.
Deal phrases weren’t disclosed. However a supply accustomed to the matter mentioned the deal was value round a $500,000 dedication. The acquisition procures full possession of RHQ’s present map catalog and welcomes a staff of three staff members, together with a roster of greater than a dozen contributing contractors who will all instantly contribute to the event and refinement of the professional division’s new catalog.
Past informal, wide-appeal experiences with artistic characters and authentic lore, the aggressive style provides a targeted entry into a singular, intent-rich participant base that gives steady playtime and reliable, repeat visitors.
The announcement aligns with Typical Gamer’s private evolution. After years of dominating the content material house, he’s entering into the aggressive area and investing in instruments to deliver his neighborhood with him. Timed to Typical Gamer’s entry within the FNCS Professional-Am on Might 10, he’ll debut the newly acquired maps, inviting followers to coach with him whereas teasing the studio’s subsequent chapter.
The acquisition was brokered by Nick Brotman, SVP at Evening Media, a expertise company. This deal will not be sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Video games. Nevertheless, Epic Video games did ship over a quote concerning the deal exercise.
“It’s inspiring to see Fortnite creators investing not only in themselves but in the Fortnite ecosystem as a whole,” mentioned Saxs Persson, government vice chairman at Epic Video games, in an announcement. “UEFN has grown rapidly, and so have creators, who continue to chart their success by building experiences that resonate with players of all types and interests.”
Fortnite Artistic numbers have been on the rise, and the JOGO people assume it may very well be stronger than Fortnite battle royale in some unspecified time in the future.
“We’ve seen a lot of UGC communities like Roblox, Minecraft. They’re continuing to absolutely blaze a path, and Fortnite is no different. Fortnite also is going to be headed back on mobile, which is huge, like that’s something that really hurt Fortnite in terms of total player base in comparison to a platform like Roblox. So to see all those users come back, that’s great,” Rebello mentioned.
Whereas enlargement into Roblox would possibly make sense in some unspecified time in the future, however the firm is concentrated on Fortnite for now. Each RHQ and JOGO began constructing maps in 2023, however they’ve been operating nonstop.
“It feels like a whirlwind has passed,” Gannon mentioned.
