After 28 Years Together, Daft Punk Announces Their Split — Why Did They Break Up?

The music and performance industry took a big hit in 2020 as most tours were canceled and large music festivals couldn't gather. But the industry has taken another big hit with the announcement that longtime Parisian techno music duo Daft Punk is breaking up.

The pair, who started creating house and electronic music in the early 1990s, revealed they were calling it quits after almost three decades together, devastating fans. But why did they break up?

In a video titled "Epilogue," posted to the duo's YouTube channel on Feb. 22, the music group announced that they were breaking up.

The eight-minute video, which is an excerpt from their film Electroma, begins with both members walking silently together in the desert. One of the members stops walking, and when his partner turns around to address him, he takes off his "Daft Punk" bomber jacket, allowing his friend to turn on what appears to be a self-destruct switch.

As the timer counts down from 60, he walks away from his friend, back in the direction he came, the timer clicking all the while. Once it reaches zero, he explodes, symbolizing the end of the pairing.

The band was founded in 1993 by French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, and together they dominated the house and techno music genre for years. Their debut album, "Homework," released in 1997 featuring their first hit tracks, "Da Funk" and "Around the World."

They slowly became a household name after the release of "Discovery" in 2001, which featured the longtime classics "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," and "One More Time." Around this time, the duo also began donning their respective robot helmets, taking on the faux robot personas they became best known for.

Daft Punk continued their fame through the 2010s with "Get Lucky" with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers and the Weeknd's "Starboy." They also collaborated with Kanye West on his album "Yeezus."

When contacted by music outlet Stereogum, Daft Punk's publicist Kathryn Frazier confirmed that the duo was officially over, though offered no comment as to why they split.

At this time, the duo has offered no public comment as to their reason for their split, though they have been in the game for 28 years. Their latest studio album, "Random Access Memories," was released in 2013, and there has been no news of new music from the group since.

On Twitter, many fans joked that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled Coachella for the second year in a row, was to blame.

"This is what happens when you cancel Coachella two years in a row," one Twitter user said, quote tweeting the news of Daft Punk's split.

Daft Punk debuted their groundbreaking pyramid light show during their headlining performance at the 2006 Coachella, which they continued to perform on their "Alive" tour through 2006 and 2007.