Disney to invest $1.5 billion in Epic Games

The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games have announced that Disney will invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside a multiyear collaboration project. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

In addition to interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more. Players, gamers and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content with each other in ways that they love. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.

Disney and Epic Games have already engaged hundreds of millions of players through Fortnite content integrations, season collaborations, in-game activations, and live events, including the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which drew more than 15.3 million concurrent players.

Epic Games themselves owns the game developers Psyonix, Mediatonic, and Harmonix, and operates studios in multiple locations around the world. The company also already has investment from Tencent (40%), and Sony (5.4%). As of 2022, the company has a US$32 billion equity valuation.

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