Are in-game music concerts going to become the norm?

Over the past couple of years, in-game music concerts have become increasingly popular. This article offers a closer look at whether or not such events are likely to become the new norm in gaming. Some of the biggest stars and bands have hosted virtual concerts, and it’s not just in the metaverse.

For example, Ariana Grande has appeared in Fortnite, and so too has Travis Scott. There was also an attempt to recreate the South By Southwest music festival in Minecraft, which they called Block By Blockwest, and Brighton’s Royal Blood hosted a concert in Roblox. Here’s more on some of these virtual events and some of the other in-game music shows that have also taken place in recent times.

What are in-game music shows?

Over the past few years, in-game music shows and concerts have become increasingly popular. People are spending more time playing video games at home than ever before, and more people have also started attending virtual music concerts than ever before. It makes perfect sense why some of the global superstars would want to team up with the major video game publishers to start hosting concerts that players can attend. It’s a great way to mix up the monotony of playing for hours at a time, but it’s still a relatively new thing, so who knows if it is going to become the norm.

Are in-game songs concerts free, and if so, how do the artists and companies make money?

The idea of hosting in-game music events is designed to draw in more crowds, but if the games are free and the music events are also free to attend, exactly how do the artists and the video game publishers make money? In simple terms, video game publishers, such as Epic Games, make money out of in-game purchases, which are also often referred to as microtransactions. Some of the most common purchasables include loot boxes, power-ups, bonus health, weapons, skins, and in-game currency.

The more people that play those games and wish to advance through the different levels will at some point have to purchase one or more of these items. Therefore, the more people that play these games and attend the concerts, the more money will be spent. This is exactly how artists and game development studios make money. Like most other things, a lot of money will also be made through sponsorship and advertising deals.

Why do people attend these events though? Most people attend in-game concerts to hear their favourite artists play some of their latest hits, as well as to hear irresistible songs about poker, and various other iconic tunes.

Fortnite

Let’s start by taking a quick look at what has recently been happening in the game Fortnite. An animated version of Travis Scott recently performed his Astronomical album, and it was said to be a mind-blowing experience for those who attended. Scott traversed around the centre of the battle royale map, and it was one of the biggest events Fortnite has ever seen.

Following on from the successful Travis Scott concert was the Ariana Grande X Fortnite event, which was said to be even more popular than the Travis Scott concert.

Minecraft

The Minecraft game hosted an event that was designed to emulate the popular real-world concert South By Southwest, and it was called Block By Blockwest. It featured multiple artists, such as Pussy Riot, IDLES, Citizen, Nothing Nowhere and Fever 333. It was hailed as one of the best music concerts ever to take place in the virtual world.

Roblox

This iconic game has also hosted several memorable events, playing host to the likes of Royal Blood (an English rock duo that formed in 2013) and Lil Nas (an American Grammy-award-winning rapper and singer).

Other notable mentions

Another notable artist who has also played a virtual concert in a major game is the band KoRn, who appeared in a game called Adventure Quest 3D. There have also been a couple of drum’n’bass events in Minecraft, most notably, the Hospitality in the Void event and the On the Grid event. It appears as though we are likely to see a lot more artists appear in video games over the coming years, and there will be even bigger events to look forward to.

As long as people keep on attending these events, they will keep on being hosted, so it looks as though they are here to stay and will eventually become the norm. If you want to catch a glimpse of what some of these events looked like without actually getting the games, you can find plenty of videos over on YouTube.

The editorial unit