Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, acquiring an equity stake in the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine. It’s part of a wider partnership to create a new persistent universe within Fortnite based on Disney’s prized franchises.
The persistent universe will offer opportunities for users to play, watch, shop, and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more. Fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content.
Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement:
Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe. This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.
Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games, added:
Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio. Now we’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.
Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, said:
This will enable us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before. Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.
This will likely build upon the success of initiatives like LEGO Fortnite, which recently launched alongside Rocket Racing and Fortnite Festival.
In other recent Epic Games news, the company recently announced it is bringing back Fortnite to iOS in Europe later this year through the Epic Games Store. Meanwhile, Tim Sweeney heavily criticized Apple’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act, which he deemed a ‘devious plan of malicious compliance’.
