Gaijin Entertainment, the studio behind the popular online game War Thunder, announced on Wednesday that it had spent millions of dollars acquiring the rights to the popular Fortnite user-created map The Pit.
On July 23, as reported by GamesBeat, Gaijin Entertainment put out a press release announcing the deal. Gaijin has created a new studio, EndoWorlds, to maintain and further develop The Pit. In a statement included in the press release, The Pit’s creator Gavin Gear said he was “thrilled to see [The Pit] enter a new phase under Gaijin Entertainment.”
“Their expertise in online gaming and commitment to innovation make them the perfect team to take The Pit to the next level,” said Gear. The map will transition to Gaijin’s new studio over a two-month period. After that, EndoWorlds will fully operate it.
Precisely how much Gaijin Entertainment paid for The Pit is unknown. The publisher only hinted at the price tag of the acquisition in the press release, stating that it was a “multi-million-dollar deal.” Still, that means the War Thunder publisher spent at least $2 million and likely much more than that on a user-made Fortnite map. Wild stuff. This is one of the first examples of a large, established video game publisher spending millions of dollars on a user-created Fortnite map.
“The acquisition of The Pit marks a new chapter for us,” said Anton Yudintsev, Gaijin Entertainment’s CEO. “We are committed to supporting innovative gaming experiences, and UGC on platforms such as Fortnite is a new, exciting opportunity for us.”
You might be wondering why a major company would buy a Fortnite map. Well, it’s because popular maps in Fortnite can earn millions of dollars via Epic’s creator payment program. It’s estimated that the once-popular Only Up map in Fortnite earned millions of dollars in its first few weeks of operation.
.