At the top of the month, developer Epic Games launched Chapter 5 of Fortnite's popular Battle Royale mode. But with the start of this new chapter, the team also launched three new experiences within the Fortnite launcher. The first was Lego Fortnite, a survival Minecraft-like game, and soon after, the second, Rocket Racing, a new racing mode created by Rocket League developers Psyonix, went live. The third and final new experience of Chapter 5 (so far, at least) went live over the weekend – it's called Fortnite Festival and is basically Rock Band-lite but in the universe of Fortnite. 

It launched Saturday, December 9, and allows players to use their various Fortnite skins and cosmetics on the Main Stage and Jam Stage to perform songs like The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" alongside Epic Games originals. While the Fortnite Festival music rhythm gameplay looks quite similar to that of Rock Band, it only supports standard controller input at the moment. I played about an hour of Fortnite Festival and while it's an impressive experience, the lack of support for Rock Band peripherals and egregious monetization – they're charging $5 a song outside of the daily rotation of free tracks – left me feeling like it still has a ways to go. 

While Epic Games hasn't commented on the monetization happening within Fortnite Festival, it has revealed that instrument controller support is on the way in an FAQ. It says, "[Fortnite Festival does not support instrument controllers at launch], but it's a priority for the team and currently under development." Epic Games says it will have more to share in 2024. 

As for what to expect in Fortnite Festival, unlike Lego Fortnite and Rocket Racing, it features its own battle pass called the Festival Pass. It costs 1800 V-Bucks (roughly 800 more V-Bucks than the Fortnite Battle Royale battle pass) and features a skin of The Weeknd, whose songs are available in the experience, various instruments and cosmetics, and more. Here's a look at it: 

There's also a free track portion of the Festival Pass, allowing all players to earn cosmetics and more for Fortnite Festival. You can earn tracks like "Butter Barn Hoedown," "Take Me Higher," "Switch Up," and more in the free track of the Festival Pass.  

Fortnite Festival is now live in Fortnite and free-to-play for all. 

For more, read about the recently released Lego Fortnite mode. 

Have you checked out Fortnite Festival? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

Update, 12/11/23:

Last month, VideoGamesChronicle reported that Free Radical Design, the team behind the TimeSplitters franchise, might be facing a complete shutdown. It seems that shutdown has happened, as the Free Radical Design website now leads to a 404 page. Plus, various employees have been posting about the studio, saying goodbye to it and more online. 

It's been a great 2 and a quarter years at Free Radical Design, sad to see us go.

Onwards and upwards! pic.twitter.com/VEfJ29g42D

— Mark?? (@KeighleyKicker) December 11, 2023

Gonna miss the folks at FRD ? Thank you and all the best for the future x pic.twitter.com/fsjFjM7I00

— Deanna / Jr Env Artist (@Sparrargh) December 11, 2023

The last day at FRD was very different from what I imagined. I don't think it sunk in properly just yet, but handed my keys in and left the building the last time. It's Time to Split pic.twitter.com/n1UGELsoED

— Adam Kiraly (@94Kiraly) December 11, 2023

Game Informer has reached out to Embracer Group, which, via publisher Deep Silver, announced in 2021 that it was reforming Free Radical Design to work on a new entry in the TimeSplitters series, for confirmation and comment on the matter. It will update this story if it learns more. 

The original story continues below...

Original story, 11/08/23:

Publisher Deep Silver, which is owned by Embracer Group, announced in 2021 that it was reforming TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design to begin development on a new entry in the series. Now, a new report from VideoGamesChronicle says this reformed Free Radical Design could be facing a complete shutdown, adding to Embracer's continued restructuring that has resulted in the closure of studios like Saints Row developer Volition Games. 

Yesterday, Embracer COO Egil Strunke announced that he had resigned from the position to launch a new game company, as reported by PC Gamer, amidst Embracer's rough year. Today, VGC reports that people familar with the matters of Free Radical Design say the studio has been part of an evaluation within Embracer and that the studio could close as a result. The publication writes that Plaion, which is the Embracer division that runs Free Radical Design, must consult employees at least 30 days in advance before layoffs per U.K. law. That law is likely how Free Radical Design employees have learned about a potential closure. 

VGC notes that on LinkedIn and social media, at least 15 Free Radical Design employee have said they're looking for new employment within the last 24 hours. Game Informer has reached out to Embracer to ask for confirmation and more details surrounding Free Radical Design's potential closure, and will update this story if more information is learned. 

As noted by VGC, while the studio could close, that's not yet guaranteed. It could be acquired by a third-party interested in the team, or simply kept open with a change of mind by Embracer.

Embracer-owned publisher Deep Silver, who also published this year's Dead Island 2, announced in 2021 that it had reformed the original TimeSplitters developer, Free Radical Design, to create a new TimeSplitters game. This new version of Free Radical Design features key members of the original team, including founders Steve Ellis and David Doak, both of whom worked on games like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark while previously employed at Rare.

The first iteration of Free Radical Design was purchased by Crytek in 2009 and then rebranded as Crytek UK. However, it was shutdown in 2014, with much of the staff moving to Dead Island 2 developer Deep Silver Dambuster Studio, which also developed Homefront: The Revolution. 

Deep Silver owners Koch Media purchased the TimeSplitters IP in 2018, officially making Free Radical Design a Deep Silver studio in the process, all of which are now under the Embracer Group umbrella after Embracer purchased Koch Media in 2018. 

Free Radical Design was set to develop the fourth TimeSplitters game in the series, but now its future as a studio remains unclear. 

The potential Free Radical Design closure joins an unfortunately ever-growing list of layoffs affecting studios this year. Yesterday, Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees, and last week, roughly 100 employees were laid off at Destiny 2 developer Bungie. 

In January, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed last month. 

In August, Striking Distance Studios, the team behind last year's The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees, and that same month, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare laid off 50 employees, including long-time studio veterans. The following month, in September, Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off roughly 45% of its staff. 

Just last month month, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog has laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games has gone through layoffs as well, although an actual number of laid-off employees has not yet been revealed.  And in late October, Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees. 

The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone affected by these layoffs and those at Free Radical Design. 

[Source: VideoGamesChronicle]