CEO Bob Iger described it as Disney’s “largest entry yet into the world of games.”
On Wednesday, Disney made the announcement that it will be investing $1.5 billion in Epic Games, the firm that is responsible for creating Fortnite. Over the course of the next several years, Disney and Epic Games will collaborate to develop a fresh new “games and entertainment universe,” according to a statement released by Disney throughout the course of the campaign.
In the release, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated, “Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the enormously popular Fortnite in a transformed new games and entertainment universe.” Fortnite is a game that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. It is the most major foray that Disney has ever made into the world of video games, and it presents a huge number of prospects for growth and expansion.
The new entertainment universe, which will be powered by Epic’s flagship Unreal Engine, will allow players to “play, watch, shop, and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.” Players will also have the ability to interact with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar characters. Unreal Engine is now being utilized by Disney for the production of movies, video games, and content that is utilized in Disney theme parks located all over the world. A prior partnership between the company and Epic Games resulted in the incorporation of characters like Marvel, Tron, and Star Wars into Fortnite.
After Disney’s investment, neither of the companies stated how much the private firm Epic Games would be valued at. Epic Games is a privately held corporation. As of right now, the Chinese technological firm Tencent controls forty percent of Epic Games, while Sony owns slightly more than five percent of the company.
In the release, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said, “[We] are collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.” This ecosystem will bring together the communities of both Disney and Fortnite. “Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite,” said the company.