Ariana Grande to Headline Virtual Fortnite Concert Series

Ariana Grande will be the latest musical artist to host a virtual concert inside the online multiplayer game Fortnite.

Grande is calling the event, which will take place in the game from August 6-8, the Rift Tour. It will be a virtual music experience within the game, and as Epic Games describes it, "the Rift Tour will begin with experiences that pair popular tracks with moments based on elements from the game. Players will be able to travel side by side with their friends on a journey to magical new realities where Fortnite and Ariana collide.”

Players who attend will be able to unlock new special items, like a new umbrella glider. There will also be Ariana-related items - like a custom Ariana skin and Piggy Smallz back bling - in the items shop. More information can be found on Epic Games' website.

Grande's concert follows on the heels of other musical acts within the game, including Travis Scott, Marshmello, J Balvin, and Dominic Fike. Fortnite's concerts have been massively successful, with over 10 million people watching Marshmello's concert back in 2019 and 12 million logging on to see Travis Scott in April 2020.

It is also common for artists to debut new songs within Fortnite. For example, Travis Scott debuted his Kid Cudi collaboration "THE SCOTTS" while headlining. It is unclear if Ariana has any new music to debut, since her most recent album Positions was released at the end of last year.

Grande's performance was rumored last month, and confidential documents found regarding Epic Games' trial against Apple proved Grande's concert was indeed true (they also revealed a Lady Gaga concert in the works). The event has been in production since at least June 2020, and was originally scheduled for October 2020. However, the J Balvin concert, which was scheduled for that September, was pushed into Ariana's original slot.

The five-show concert series will start August 6 at 6pm ET, with different show times each day. Epic Games recommends being ready in-game an hour before any of the performances so you can fully experience the Rift Tour playlist when it goes live 30 minutes ahead of showtime. It's also important for players to get there early so they don't get kicked out when the event fills up. You can find Grande's full schedule here.

Watch the Rift Tour teaser below.

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_{Article Image: Ariana Grande at a concert in South China in 2017, blue smoke and pink lights surrounding her as she sings into a microphone. (ChinaImages via DepositPhotos.)}