A few months ago, Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games to create a persistent universe for its franchises in Fortnite, one of the most popular online games.
The Verge has now disclosed that they have managed to get information about the venture from Epic Games EVP Saxs Persson at the Unreal Fest in Seattle. Here’s what Persson had to say on the subject:
Disney wants a persistent place where all things Disney can be there, but they want to be part of an ecosystem we’ve built. We see the power of ecosystems interoperating as being really the magic here. From a player perspective, you want to flow between a Fortnite experience, a Disney experience, or any experience. We see the power of ecosystems interoperating as being really the magic here. From a player perspective, you want to be able to flow between a Fortnite experience, a Disney experience, or any experience really.
Persson says that players can enter the universe “in the Disney front door or the Fortnite front door.” He also clarified that the supposed projects will have the same backend as Fortnite, with the overall cosmetic layout and social graph, but the key difference would be in the in-game content and maybe the accessibility you will have to the Disney universe. The big concern with this venture was fortunately addressed by Persson when he says that this partnership doesn’t mean that Disney characters would do anything in the Fortnite universe:
Not every outfit will be able to do everything. A LEGO minifig doesn’t hold a gun. Brands should be able to enforce the brand guidelines to the degree that they’re comfortable with that brand being associated with particular ratings.
This project is definitely worth following, although presently we don’t have any hints as to when it might become available.
