The Walt Disney Company is investing $1.5 billion Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker Epic Games, the two companies announced on Wednesday. Together, they will “build an entirely new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences,” according to the press release. The partnership is awaiting regulatory approval, but… something expected “soon”, according to an Epic Games video.
“The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences,” a Disney representative wrote in a statement. “Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games in addition to the multi-year project.”
Details on Disney and Epic Games’ “persistent universe,” which is described as “a world-class gaming experience and collaborating with Fortnite”, are few and far between, except that it will be a place dedicated to all things Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar. The announcement also stated that it would be a place where people can “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories” from those Disney franchises. It sounds like Disney wants to create a metaverse-like product that is a one-stop shop for the company, without having to go anywhere else.
An image published alongside the press release shows at least four separate worlds, littered with various Disney franchises and companies. There is one island where Marvel and Lucasfilm live in harmony Wreck it Ralph has a high rise directly opposite a Nightmare before Christmas park. It looks like the maps Disney makes of its real theme parks.
“This marks Disney’s largest ever entry into the gaming world and presents significant opportunities for growth and expansion,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”
Image: Epic Games, The Walt Disney Company
Disney characters are no strangers to Epic Games: you can have Spider-Man, Darth Vader and Jack Skellington fight in Fortnite. That’s on top of it Fortnite‘s 2020 Marvel Nexus War event, which spanned an entire season. This was also announced on Wednesday Rocket League, developed by Psyonix, owned by Epic Games, gets a The Mandalorian update and event, which runs from February 7 to 21.
Similarly, Lego and Sony made a major investment in Epic Games in 2022, handing out $1 million each to the Fortnite maker. The fruits of that collaboration were published this year with Lego Fortnitea Minecraft-like building game in an open world. It broke player records at launch, reaching 2.45 million concurrent players, and it remains popular. That, plus the release of Fortnite‘S Rocket racing And Fortnite Festival games, attracted 7.6 million concurrent players at launch. With this success it is no surprise Epic Games is valued at $31.5 billion from 2022. Fortnite alone brings in billions of dollars in revenue and only continues to grow.
However, all these successes are in stark contrast to the reality of Epic Games’ activities; According to CEO Tim Sweeney, the company spends more than it earns. Epic Games also laid off 16% of its workforce, or about 830 people, at the end of September.
“We have been spending far more money than we make for some time, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” Sweeney wrote in an email to staff in September. “I was optimistic for a long time that we would be able to get through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.”
While companies like Meta,Microsoft, and even Disney itself have pulled back on metaverse projects, Sweeney has kept Epic Games on track, even if it meant major investments and staff losses. His vision for the Fortnite metaverse is the only thing that has remained consistent over the years. This Disney partnership could be one way that actually comes into focus.