On paper – man with bucket on his head plays some tracks inside a game – sounds flat. But Marshmello showing up last Saturday (2nd February) to perform two sets (well, one set and an encore) within Fortnite: Battle Royale was a very big deal indeed.

As part of some sort of EDM armistice, weapons in the game were disabled for the duration of Marshmello’s 10-minute set in Pleasant Park, a simulation of a suburban town within Battle Royale’s world. His appearance had been rumoured for days ahead of the gig and the hype ramped up from there. The Verge even called it “a glimpse into the future of interactive entertainment”.

A nice touch was that, during the drop in some of his tracks, the gravity within the game was disabled so that players would bounce off into the sky. Those watching could also perform different emotes – the assorted dances that are key motifs within the game.

“Thank you for coming out today and making history with me!” roared Marshmello at the start of his set, keenly aware that this was no time for subtlety. He kept interjecting during his set (“I want to see you jumping! Let’s go!”) which gave the whole thing a whiff of a provincial mobile disco from the 1970s, but the quality of the music was incidental to The Event.

Epic Games says “millions” were watching (some unofficial estimates say this was 10m), and as a technical feat, it was genuinely impressive. Lots of people will be pontificating about what this all means for the future of live performance and how music and esports are set to develop an even greater symbiotic relationship. But really the most interesting thing was the ability to sell virtual merchandise.

Players could buy a Marshmello skin for 1,500 V-Bucks ($15), but the terms of the deal were not made public. The branding and marketing side was a triumph yet those on the outside looking in will be more interested in discovering just how lucrative that 10-minute set was and if it’s easier money than a Vegas residency.