Typical Gamer's JOGO doubles down on UEFN maps with acquisition of RHQ Creative
JOGO, a game studio started by popular creator Typical Gamer, has doubled down on Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) games by acquiring RHQ Creative.
Typical Gamer, whose real name is Andre Rebello, has more than 30 million followers because people love to watch him play Fortnite. But a couple of years ago, he crossed the line and started making games via Epic Games' tools for user-generated content on UEFN. He built the business to a team of 20 people and their maps have generated more than 400 million plays. That has turned into a real business.
And it's why JOGO is buying RHQ Creative, a builder of UEFN training maps with 20 million map visits and 200 million hours of play time. The idea is to launch a 'Pro' line of maps in Fortnite, as RHQ is run by another Fortnite star, Quinn Gannon, AKA RichHomieQuinn (link). Gannon has more than 500,000 followers and he has also been able to making a living as pro Fortnite player.
'We're super excited to be bringing our RHQ Creative and Quinn into the JOGO fold,' said Rebello, CEO of JOGO, in an exclusive interview with GamesBeat. 'We just see the future Fortnite, especially in the competitive realm, as a very stable and awesome player base. And so far, JOGO maps have mostly been casual maps, with some competitiveness to them. But we have mostly casual player bases versus this opportunity to really implant it to ourselves in the competitive space. We wanted someone like Quinn who really understands that space and understands that player to bring his expertise over.'
JOGO and RHQ Creative have teamed up.
'Welcoming Quinn and the RHQ team onboard is a huge win,' said Rebello, known as Typical Gamer, one of Fortnite's most recognizable personalities. 'Not just because he's a veteran map builder and pro competitor, but because he understands what it takes to design for a different kind of player. This deal opens up a whole new lane for JOGO, and it's just the beginning.'
Rebelo added, 'We're in a strong position to keep growing, keep investing, and keep building experiences that meet players wherever they are. Whether you're logging on for the first time or grinding for the next FNCS, JOGO will be there for all of it.'
This is one of the first studio acquisitions in UEFN, and RHQ Creative will bring a few more people to JOGO's team with a specialty focus on skill-building and competitive training maps for aspiring professional players.
RichHomieQuinn has earned a cult following for its thoughtfully designed competitive training maps, optimized for repeatability, improvement, and fun. JOGO expects to be able to accelerate RHQ Creative's map growth by integrating JOGO's high-quality creative and publishing infrastructure.
'I was a professional Fortnite player. I've been competing in Fortnite since 2019 and I was one of the top players on my region, and I also was able to build a community through coaching and helping develop players,' said Quinn, in an interview. 'When I ended up getting into UEFN, I developed maps that I could practice on while also being able to help teach newer players.'
Creator counts by payout for UEFN.
Quinn coached Rebello in a solo tournament a few years ago. They ended up playing duos together, and they developed a friendship — and they competed in serious tournaments. They have tried to grow their expertise in a variety of areas, and they're doing the same making Fortnite maps.
'We want to make sure that provide the most value for the player,' Rebello said.
JOGO's maps have had more than 400 million plays, said Chad Mustard, COO of JOGO, in an interview with GamesBeat. JOGO has done around a dozen maps, while RHQ has 11 maps. Some of those maps could take a few days to create, but others may take more than six months.
'If we're not the biggest, we're one of the top studios in the space, and acquiring another studio is significant. That shows the growth of the UEFN space is strong,' he said.
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Mustard has a million followers, but he acknowledges he can't compete on the same level as Gannon and Rebello. But he does get joy out of building new maps.
'If I would try to play against them, I wouldn't be able to be able to move,' he . But I can go in and build some awesome experience, and it's really fun.'
As Typical Gamer, Rebello started making tutorial videos for Red Dead Redemption back in 2009. He started getting hundreds of thousands of views, and now it feels like he has come full circle, as doing training maps for players is meant to help them learn how to play the game.
Gannon likes to play, but when he came to UEFN, he got a lot of satisfaction out of helping others grow their skills.
'I love being part of their journey,' he said.
Left to Right: JOGO's leadership team includes COO Chad Mustard, CEO Andre 'Typical Gamer' Rebelo, and CTO Mark Price.
Typical Gamer wants to build the future of game development, which includes every kind of player, from explorers to elite grinders. The acquisition adds immediate training domain expertise, map performance data, and design sensibility tuned to the professional or pro-aspiring player as it expands into the competitive genre.
Deal terms were not disclosed. But a source familiar with the matter said the deal was worth around a $500,000 commitment. The acquisition procures full ownership of RHQ's existing map catalog and welcomes a team of three team members, along with a roster of more than a dozen contributing contractors who will all directly contribute to the development and refinement of the pro division's new catalog.
Beyond casual, wide-appeal experiences with creative characters and original lore, the competitive genre offers a focused entry into a unique, intent-rich player base that provides stable playtime and dependable, repeat traffic.
The announcement aligns with Typical Gamer's personal evolution. After years of dominating the content space, he's stepping into the competitive arena and investing in tools to bring his community with him. Timed to Typical Gamer's entry in the FNCS Pro-Am on May 10, he will debut the newly acquired maps, inviting fans to train with him while teasing the studio's next chapter.
Fortnite is paying out a lot of money to creators.
The acquisition was brokered by Nick Brotman, SVP at Night Media, a talent agency. This deal is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Games. However, Epic Games did send over a quote about the deal activity.
'It's inspiring to see Fortnite creators investing not only in themselves but in the Fortnite ecosystem as a whole,' said Saxs Persson, executive vice president at Epic Games, in a statement. 'UEFN has grown rapidly, and so have creators, who continue to chart their success by building experiences that resonate with players of all types and interests.'
Fortnite Creative numbers have been on the rise, and the JOGO folks think it could be stronger than Fortnite battle royale at some point.
'We've seen a lot of UGC communities like Roblox, Minecraft. They're continuing to absolutely blaze a path, and Fortnite is no different. Fortnite also is going to be headed back on mobile, which is huge, like that's something that really hurt Fortnite in terms of total player base in comparison to a platform like Roblox. So to see all those users come back, that's great,' Rebello said.
While expansion into Roblox might make sense at some point, but the company is focused on Fortnite for now. Both RHQ and JOGO started building maps in 2023, but they've been running nonstop.
'It feels like a whirlwind has passed,' Gannon said.
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