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

See you on Fortnite on November 21st at 8 p.m. CET:

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Discover ARTE Riff Mountain cinematic trailer

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

The threat of the Mainstream has returned. Papy Metal and the Grolls (guardians of the Mountain of Metal) raise Riff Mountain, the Mountain of Riffs, from the depths of the earth, allowing humans to access a supernatural power and fight this looming danger. Through a series of challenges and puzzles, players will collect decibels, the fuel that powers the immense machinery built over time by metalheads. This energy is gathered and offered to the Riff Divinity, a colossal central automaton-statue capable of unlocking the interdimensional portal. But divisions within the great metal family have given rise to four clans, each determined to reach this power according to their own vision and style. Players can choose a clan, activate their aura, and venture into the various quests and trials they must face deep within the mountain. At the crossroads of myth, gameplay, and music, the project delivers an immersive and collective narrative, where every player takes part in writing a legend driven by metal.

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…

Zoom on the musical runner

In the world of ARTE Riff Mountain, music isn’t just something you listen to: you run through it, you live it, you play it.

The musical runner, developed in cooperation with Wagram Music and Panenka, is driven by a powerful track from Pogo Car Crash Control.

👉 A format designed as a full experience in its own right:

  • a runner (a rhythm-based running game where you move forward in sync with the music),
  • immersive musical staging,
  • a direct dialogue between video game, storytelling, and live energy.

Lore side: players and their clans follow the Riff Divinity to train against the threat of the Mainstream, collecting Inspiration throughout this rhythm-fueled musical run.

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.

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

Original music composer and sound designer

Saïf KECHRID

Lead Cinematics & Environment
Florent BRILLET

Lead Cinematics & Lighting
Alexandre ASTIER

Environment Artists
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 Artists
Paul BOURSY, Gary EFTIMESCU, Xavier ALBERT

UI Artists

Halim BEN MANSOUR, Léa GAUDIN

Sound Design Artist

Brian Michael FULLER

Props Artist

Brice PARRONDO

Research & Development
Etienne ROBBIANI, Victor LARMARAUD

Technical Artist, Game developer, Cinematic Artist

Lena GLISOVIC TRESNJIC

Screentwriting
c

Writing & Directing
Freddy KONé, Maud CLAVIER

Executive Production
Mohamed MAROUENE

Brand Management & Communication Direction
Alexandra de TOURNEMIRE

Papy Metal Voice

Pierre-Alain de GARRIGUES

Grolls Voices
Simon PECHINOT et Olivier PERNOT de Pogo Car Crash Control 

With the support of the national Center for cinema and the moving image

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