Arte Riff Mountain:
the Fortnite island co-produced by SoWhen? and Arte

At the crossroads of genres, Arte Riff Mountain is a musical game with strong editorial vision and diverse gameplay
a true ode to metal culture

The Riff Mountain is a unique creation co-produced by ARTE and SoWhen?, in partnership with the legendary Hellfest. Accessible in Fortnite in fall 2025, the island invites players and metal fans to experience a hybrid world at the crossroads of video games, metal culture, and interactive live performance.

A mythical mountain, four clans

Every 666 years, The Riff Mountain rises from the earth, granting humans access to a supernatural power hidden behind a tightly locked portal.

To open this portal, players must call upon the power of metal. Through challenges and puzzles, they collect decibels — the fuel of an immense machinery built over time by metalheads. All this energy is gathered and offered to the Riff Divinity, a colossal automaton statue, the only entity capable of unlocking the interdimensional portal.

But divisions within the great metal family have given birth to four clans, each determined to seize this power according to its own vision and style. Players can choose a clan, activate their aura, and set out on quests and trials deep within the mountain.

At the crossroads of myth, gameplay, and music, ARTE Riff Mountain delivers an immersive, collective narrative where every player contributes to writing a legend driven by metal.

Logo Arte Riff Mountain : l’île Fortnite coproduite par SoWhen? et Arte

Games and challenges of this Fortnite experience

The Riff Mountain is designed as a true mental theme park inspired by the spirit of Hellfest:

On the Fortnite island The Riff Mountain, players are immersed in an experience that is accessible, deeply immersive, but also playful, welcoming, and at times delightfully irreverent — a kind of theme park for lovers of riffs and stories. In this vast playground filled with nods to Hellfest and the many facets of metal culture, they can:

  • take on a wide range of challenges tied to metal music,
  • join a clan and compete in various trials to defend its colors,
  • discover the different subgenres of metal, along with the anecdotes and legends that shaped them,
  • uncover the secrets of The Riff Mountain and its colorful inhabitants,
  • share unique moments with the community,
  • and enjoy many more surprises yet to come…

More than a game: a cultural and social experience

Beyond fun and challenges, the island is also a place for exchange and awareness: a safe zone highlights the importance of respect and anti-harassment prevention.
The Riff Mountain brings together two passionate communities — gamers and metalheads — and gives everyone the chance to discover new worlds, artists, and metal subgenres in an interactive way.

le bus rose d'arte arrive dans l'île fortnite the riff mountain créée par SoWhen?

A creation and production by SoWhen?

Conceived with ARTE and created and produced by SoWhen?, a French CreaTech company, the ARTE Riff Mountain island embodies our unique expertise:

  • Artistic and narrative direction: an immersive experience blending gameplay, storytelling, and culture.
  • Cutting-edge technologies: designed in UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite), with avatar integration and markerless motion capture.
  • Fully integrated production: from creative strategy to launch, including R&D and real-time 3D development.

With ARTE Riff Mountain, we demonstrate how a platform like Fortnite can become a living, interactive, and evolving cultural space, accessible worldwide.

ARTE’s approach

ARTE has long explored innovative formats and video game experiences, often in collaboration with independent studios. With SoWhen?, a French CreaTech company of human scale recognized by Epic Games (Gold Partner Unreal Engine), the channel wanted to take a new step by creating an original and committed work at the crossroads of video games, culture, and live performance.

Why in Fortnite? Because it is no longer just a game, but a global creative platform open to all creators: artists, studios, independents… Today, over 70% of playtime is spent on community creations. Concerts, screenings, and festivals already take place there, all free and accessible on consoles, PC, or smartphones. This project is therefore not a commercial partnership with Epic Games, but a free artistic creation within Fortnite Creative.

Why draw inspiration from Hellfest? Because ARTE has been a partner of the festival for over ten years, and Hellfest embodies a rich, vibrant musical culture with a loyal audience. Metal and gaming share the same passion for intensity, energy, and community. This affinity is what ARTE Riff Mountain explores, in a stylized atmosphere that respects sensitivities: a PEGI 12 world, without shocking elements, but alive with riffs and imagination.

ARTE Riff Mountain has thus been designed as an immersive, social, and evolving experience centered around metal — exactly what Fortnite Creative makes possible today.

News & Behind the Scenes

Want to keep up with the latest updates and discover all the behind-the-scenes secrets of ARTE Riff Mountain?

ARTE Discord

News blog and Dev Diaries (coming soon)

ARTE Riff Mountain Production Page

Hellfest web site

Credits

**Format**
Video game

**Genre**
Fiction

**Technology**
UEFN

**Co-Production**
ARTE France, SoWhen? The CreaTech Company

**Production**
Benjamin BAN, Marouene JARRAYA

**Cinematics & Environment**
Alexandre ASTIER, Florent BRILLET

**Environment**
Maroua FERCHICHI, Marwa AZZABI, Thomas LEBSIR

**Characters & Mo-cap Direction**
Laura LE GOFF

**Technology, Game & Level Design, Programming**
Valentin CANAUX

**Concept Art**
Logesh SHANKAR, Antoine SCHINDLER

**Level Design & Programming**
Louisa LE MEUR

**Programming**
Sarah PLICHTA

**R\&D & Tool Development**
Ronan CROYAL

**Cinematics**
Paul BOURSY

**Research & Development**
Etienne ROBBIANI, Victor LARMARAUD

**Writing & Directing**
Freddy Koné, Maud Clavier

**Executive Production**
Mohamed Marouene

**Brand Management & Communication Direction**
Alexandra de Tournemire

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