ARIANA Grande looks set to scoop more than $20million from her virtual appearance in Fortnite.
The pop superstar will host a series of in-game performances this week – potentially marking Fortnite’s biggest event ever.
- Read the latest stories for PS5
- Keep up-to-date with all the Xbox news
- Read the latest gaming news
There are five live shows for fans to tune into, and in-game items that they can collect too.
This includes an Ariana Grande “outfit” that lets gamers play as the American music sensation.
Epic Games doesn’t disclose the exact details of its deals with stars who participate in their events.
But according to Forbes, Ariana Grande is set for a massive payday thanks to the Fortnite collaboration.
Estimates put a previous event by Travis Scott as earning him $20million in merchandise sales.
As Ariana Grande is an even bigger artist – with more fans and higher album sales – you would expect a bigger turnaround.
It’s likely Ariana Grande is receiving some kind of cash payout from Epic Games.
And it’s possible this could include a cut of sales of in-game items.
Plus it’s inevitable that the event will drive people to listen to Ariana Grande songs outside of the game – and potentially splash cash on real-world merchandise too.
Doing a virtual tour is also a great way to reach huge numbers of fans at a much lower cost compared to real-world gigs.
Although lots of effort goes into creating a compelling digital production, it’s inevitably smaller-scale than carting teams of people to stadiums around the world.
The event is called the Fortnite Rift Tour, and takes place between August 6 and 8.
“Take a musical journey into magical new realities where Fortnite and Ariana Grande collide,” said Fortnite creator Epic Games.
There are five different showings, and you can schedule when you want to attend with pals.
Epic Games says it’s best to arrive in Fortnite around 60 minutes before the showtime.
And the Rift Tour playlist should appear around 30 minutes before each show.
These are the event times:
- Show 1 – Friday, August 6 – 6pm NYC / 11pm London
- Show 2 – Saturday, August 7 – 2pm NYC / 7pm London
- Show 3 – Sunday, August 8 – 12am ET / 5am London
- Show 4 – Sunday, August 8 – 10am NYC / 3pm London
- Show 5 – Sunday, August 8 – 6pm NYC / 11pm London
As part of the event, there’s a new Ariana Grande outfit and Piggy Smallz Back Bling.
Travis Scott previously performed a virtual tour, and Diplo hosted a live Major Lazer concert.
Other artists who have released or shown off content in Fortnite include BTS, J Balvin, Steve Aoki, Dillon Francis and Deadmau5.
The virtual gig was previously leaked online.
Other big-name franchise tie-ups include wildly popular anime Naruta, and DC’s Justice League and Suicide Squad.
Hit Netflix series Stranger Things is also mooted for a crossover, and this has been corroborated by a separate leak.
Of course, Epic Games hasn’t formally confirmed that any of these events are taking place.
But the company regularly hosts Fortnite events, so it’s likely there are big plans in the making.
