Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced the opening of a new studio located in Cologne, Germany in partnership with the founders of German developer, Factor 5.

Both Julian Eggebrecht and Achim Moller have joined Epic Games at the new studio, taking on 'Director of Online Technology' and 'Cologne Studio Director' roles respectively. As founders of Factor 5, the pair have released various games across Nintendo consoles in the past such as Super Turrican 1 and 2 on SNES, Contra: The Alien Wars on Game Boy, and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on N64. The studio was also credited on Pokémon Stadium for work with sound compression.

According to a press release covering the announcement, Epic's new studio "serves as part of the company’s expanding focus on emerging forms of interactive media and streaming technologies". What this means in simple terms for us as consumers isn't 100% clear, but Eggebrecht has expressed his excitement for recruiting new and "exceptional" talent:

“At the core of Epic’s success are highly-skilled and passionate individuals. Germany is a nation at the forefront of technology and we look forward to extending our local presence as we fill newly created roles and hire exceptional talent.”

Epic says it currently has almost 200 job opportunities available across its various offices around the world, including some at the new Cologne studio.