The Walt Disney Company has announced that it has now purchased a stake in Epic Games, the developer behind the smash-hit multiplayer game Fortnite. As Fortnite has continued to grow since its launch back in 2017, the game has notably seen a number of major crossovers that have resulted in collaborations between brands such as Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Nike, and numerous others. Now, Disney is looking to deepen its direct ties with Epic and is creating what it calls a “games and entertainment universe” that will tie-in with Fortnite.
Announced alongside a new video, Disney revealed that it has spent $1.5 billion to acquire equity in Epic Games. Following the closing of this deal, Epic will then look to create a new in-game universe associated with Fortnite that will house some of Disney’s biggest brands that include Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and many others. This “persistent universe” is one that is said to allow fans to play, watch, shop, and engage with content, characters, and stories” that are all associated with Disney. A release date for this project has yet to be announced, but it still seems pretty far off based on a tease at the end of the video announcing this deal.
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“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,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger of the move. “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.”
“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,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. “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.”
Again, for the time being, there are many more questions than answers to be had regarding this new partnership between Disney and Epic. For the foreseeable future, no major changes should end up coming about that will impact Fortnite in the near terms. Looking further down the road, though, it’s clear that Fortnite is only going to continue to evolve in big ways and will surely be an ever-present game for the years or decades to come.
