Disney and Epic Games have announced a new and expensive partnership which will see Disney invest $1.5 billion USD into a stake in Epic alongside the construction of a whole new virtual universe connected to Epic’s gargantuan online platform, Fortnite.
Disney says that this Unreal Engine-powered project will be “a world-class games experience and 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.”
The company says that the goal for this initiative is to leverage Epic’s open ecosystem and the companies’ ongoing collaboration through Unreal Engine, which is a part of a lot of Disney’s film and TV workflow, and help them “reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.”
You can see a promo video for the new partnership below:
“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,” says Disney CEO Bob Iger in a press release. “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,” adds Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney. “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.”
