EDM star DJ Marshmello performed at a different sort of concert today: one held live in-game in Fortnite. Fortnite players have been excitedly anticipating the event all week, with Epic dropping hints that something big was coming.
Epic is known for its wacky and creative events, which have included a rocket launch that ripped a rift in Fortnite’s sky, Kevin the cube who took a roll around the whole world map, and the recent attack of the Ice King, which left the whole map under snow. But a live music event is a new concept, and Epic has been busy promoting the event with in-game posters, and a challenge to unlock a Marshmello dance emote and the “marshy smasher” pickaxe.
The concert was held in Pleasant Park, where the usual football field was transformed into a stage. In order to maintain the peace at the concert, all other game modes were disabled and players took a break from focusing on their week 9 challenges to enjoy the music. For once in Fortnite, everyone came together to dance instead of finding creative ways to see each other off.
Marshmello is known for wearing a custom helmet inspired by Deadmau5 (who’s apparently making a first-person shooter of his own), and his in-game appearance was no different. Most of the audience turned out in matching Marshmello looks and with their marshy smashers ready. The stage had the same bright colors and lighting effects that an in-person concert would have, but also boasted extras like an enormous holographic Marshmello and other figures that danced high above the stage.
Twitter has been going predictably nuts about the concert, with tweets describing the event as “awesome,” showing “what video games are capable of,” and “hands down the definition of epic.” An event on this scale demonstrates the possibilities of virtual music shows, with Twitter users wondering, “Did @marshmellomusic just have the largest concert in human history ?!” and cheering that “As a lover of live music and gaming, seeing the two come together like this is crazy.”
Marshmello himself seemed delighted with the gig, tweeting: “Holy!!! We just made history today. We can all tell our kids one day that we attended the first ever virtual concert.”
Holy!!! We just made history today. We can all tell our kids one day that we attended the first ever virtual concert @FortniteGame
— marshmello (@marshmello) February 2, 2019
If you missed the concert this time around, you can still catch an encore of the show. Epic will be replaying the event at 2 a.m. ET (11 p.m. PT) on Sunday, February 3.
Updated on February 2: added information about encore concert.
