In a surprising announcement, The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games have revealed an unprecedented collaboration that will see Disney acquire a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games. This partnership will lead to the creation of a new universe of games and entertainment connected to Fortnite, which aims to expand the reach of Disney stories and experiences.
This new universe will interoperate with Fortnite and offer multiple ways for consumers to play, watch, purchase and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more. Players will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctively Disney way, and share content.
In the words of The Walt Disney Company CEO Robert A. Iger: “Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together beloved Disney brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformative new universe of games and entertainment. This marks Disney’s largest foray into gaming and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in innovative ways.”
For his part, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeny commented: “Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of uniting their worlds with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio. “Now we are collaborating on something completely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring the Disney and Fortnite communities together.”
This partnership promises to bring Disney experiences to a broader audience than has ever been seen before. Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help Disney reach consumers in a more relevant way than ever.
Disney Experiences President Josh D’Amaro said, “This will allow us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company to 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 interact with Disney in the way that is most relevant to them.”
Fountain: Gematsu
