Disney to take $1.5 billion stake in Epic Video games maker of Fortnite

Disney to take $1.5 billion stake in Epic Video games maker of Fortnite

Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Photographs
Disney is investing $1.5 billion for a stake in Epic Video games, CEO Bob Iger mentioned Wednesday, in its greatest wager but on the gaming house.

The media large will work with the Fortnite studio to create new video games and an leisure universe the place shoppers can “play, watch, store and have interaction with content material, characters and tales from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and extra,” Disney mentioned in a press launch.

“Our thrilling new relationship with Epic Video games will carry collectively Disney’s beloved manufacturers and franchises with the massively in style Fortnite in a transformational new video games and leisure universe,” mentioned Iger in a press release.

Disney didn’t say what the valuation of Epic, a non-public firm, could be after the Disney funding.

Iger described the funding because the media firm’s most important step ever into the gaming phase. It has had success licensing figures like Spider-Man for blockbuster video video games, and collaborated with Epic to carry characters from Marvel, Star Wars, “The Nightmare Earlier than Christmas,” “Tron” and extra to Fortnite.

The deal additionally extends a string of main partnerships for Epic.

Fortnite has lately collaborated with Lego for a survival crafting sport inside the gaming platform just like Minecraft. It additionally launched Fortnite Pageant, a rhythm sport from Harmonix, which created the sport Rock Band.

“Disney was one of many first firms to imagine within the potential of bringing their worlds along with ours in Fortnite, and so they use Unreal Engine throughout their portfolio,” mentioned Epic Video games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney in a press release. “Now we’re collaborating on one thing solely new to construct a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that may carry collectively the Disney and Fortnite communities.”

Except for Fortnite, Epic Video games is well-known for difficult Apple and Google in courtroom to power them to decrease their app retailer charges. Sweeney was personally concerned in each challenges, from the planning phases to testifying in courtroom.

He gained a victory in opposition to Google, though that call is predicted to be appealed, and largely misplaced in opposition to Apple.

— CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report

Unique information supply Credit score: www.cnbc.com

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