Epic Says Rock Band Controller Support a 'Priority' for Fortnite Festival

Fortnite Festival has officially arrived and brings with it a Rock Band-like experience to Fortnite. While it doesn't support instrument controllers at launch, Epic has confirmed to IGN it is a priority for the team to add it in the future and that they are actively working on it.

IGN had the chance to speak to Epic EVP Saxs Persson and Harmonix studio director Alex Rigopulos about Fortnite Festival and they had some exciting news to share for those who wish to relive the days of Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

"Not at launch, but it's very much a priority for us to support instrument peripherals in the game," Rigopulos said. "It's something that we're actually already actively working on. We don't have anything specific to say about it yet, other than it's coming."

The official Fortnite blog did add, however, that we will be hearing more about this functionality at some point in 2024.

For those unfamiliar, Fortnite Festival is a free-to-play game inside of Fortnite that was created by Rock Band developer Harmonix. You can choose from a list of songs and choose to play either guitar, bass, keytar, drums or vocals. You can also take the stage solo or with up to three friends.

While most songs will need to be purchased to play or unlocked via the Festival Season Pass, there will always be a rotation of featured Jam Tracks that will be free and will change over time. Once in the game, you will play through songs in a fashion much like Rock Band or Guitar Hero that will test you with hitting notes at the right time and building up a star meter.

Fortnite Festival will also be introducing new types of Locker items to Fortnite, including Instuments and Auras. The Instrument items will let you customize you guitar, keyar, drums, mics, and bass, and Auras will "surround you with an ambience as you perform."

Season 1: Opening Night is the first season for Fortnite Festival and will run until February 22, 2024, and sees The Weeknd as the featured Icon. The Premium Reward Track of the Festival Season Pass will even include The Weeknd Outfit.

Fortnite Festival, alongside LEGO Fortnite and Rocket Racing are the three big new modes that were added in Fortnite Chapter 5: Underground and you can read more about them and find out some tips and tricks in the links earlier in this sentence.

For more, check out how LEGO Fortnite takes survival crafting to a whole new level and how Fortnite Rocket Racing takes the best from Rocket League and puts it on the track.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.