Fortnite App Houseparty Closing Down

Source: Epic

The video app owned by Fortnite maker Epic Games, Houseparty, will be closed by the end of October.

The app was launched in 2016 and it was acquired by Epic in 2019 for a reported $35 million deal. In November 2020 it was integrated with Fortnite to let players see one another during multiplayer gaming sessions.

Tens of millions of people around the world have used Houseparty to connect with their friends and family since the app launched in 2016.

The Team said in their blog "We do not take the decision to discontinue the app lightly. We created Houseparty to let people feel like they’re together even when physically apart, and we can’t thank you enough for turning to Houseparty for the important moments in your life. From birthday parties to proposals, marriages, family game nights and more, you did it all on Houseparty. And, in a year when we couldn’t be physically together, we’re even more honored that you turned to Houseparty to laugh, play games, and create memories while apart."

Houseparty gained popularity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as national lockdowns were introduced around the world.

Source: BBC

The software let people "drop-in" to video chat rooms hosted by friends, and it offered games for groups to play together.

However, its reputation was damaged in March 2020 when a false rumour suggested downloading the app could lead to Netflix and Spotify accounts being "hacked".Houseparty said it had found no evidence that its service had been compromised.

The company later offered a $1m (£720m) bounty to anybody who could prove it had been the target of a deliberate smear campaign. The reward has not been claimed.

At the height of lockdowns, Houseparty had reported it had gained 50 million new sign-ups in a month’s time as users looked to video apps to connect with family and friends while the world was shut down. But as the pandemic wore on, other video chat experiences gained more ground. Zoom, which had established itself as an essential tool for remote work, became a tool for hanging out with friends after-hours, as well.

While none of the Houseparty team members are being let go as a result of this move, they will be joining other teams where they will work on new ways to allow for “social interactions” across the Epic Games family of products. The company’s announcement hinted that those social features would be designed and built at the “metaverse scale.”

The “metaverse” is an increasingly used buzzword that references a shared virtual environment, like those provided by large-scale online gaming platforms such as Fortnite, Roblox and others. Facebook, too, claims the metaverse is the next big gambit for social networking, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described it as an “embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at.”

Source: Apptopia

According to data from Apptopia, Houseparty has been continually declining since the pandemic bump. To date, its app has seen a total of 111 million downloads across iOS and Android, with the majority (63 million) on iOS. The U.S. was Houseparty’s largest market, accounting for 43.4% of downloads, followed by the U.K. (9.8%), then Germany (5.6%).

Looking for another app to connect with your loved ones? The 12 Best Group Video Call Apps of 2021 (Lifewire), Best Video Chat Apps (Digital Trends)

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Mili Ponce

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