More than 12 million people hopped on Fortnite Games for the debut of Travis Scott’s new song. The Grammy-nominated rapper debuted Astronomical within the wildly popular online video game, and it attracted a record audience. The game’s official Twitter account shared the news.
Travis Scott also noted that in a tweet thanking his supporters in which he wrote, “Honestly today was one of the most inspiring days.”
The previous record breaker for concurrent viewers in the game was also a music act. Over 10.7 million turned out for Marshmello’s virtual performance in February 2019.
Meanwhile, the concurrent viewership number reported by Epic Games for Scott’s virtual concert doesn’t include additional views on Twitch and YouTube.
Scott’s 15-minute “Fortnite” performance, which included a rendition of Highest in the Room, premiered at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Epic Games also included four additional tour dates for Scott’s Astronomical, to accommodate fans worldwide in different time zones. With the virtual doors opening 30 minutes beforehand.
As part of the Epic Games partnership with Travis Scott, Fortnite added him to its Icon Series to let players get his outfits, emotes, gear and other accessories. Those who attended the Astronomical events are promised the Astroworld Cyclone Glider and two loading screens for free.
Fortnite remained the biggest game of the year for 2019 in terms of revenue, raking in an impressive $1.8 billion — a decline of 25% off a record-setting $2.4 billion take a year earlier, according to research firm SuperData.
Fortnite has collaborated with Hollywood before, including virtually screening Chance the Rapper‘s reboot of Punk’d on Quibi.
