Disney’s $1.5 Billion Investment Unveils Epic’s ‘Permanent Universe’ in Fortnite

MetaversePlanet February 12, 2024

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Disney has announced a substantial investment of $1.5 billion in Epic Games to develop what is being called a ‘permanent universe’ associated with Fortnite. This investment marks the beginning of a multi-year collaboration between the two companies.

Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, and Disney are collaborating to construct what is touted as a “vast, open, and enjoyable universe.” As part of this collaboration, Disney revealed its plan to invest $1.5 billion in Epic Games shares.

While initially, Disney’s investment might seem to indicate a venture into a metaverse project, detailed information is currently limited.

The Disney universe is coming to Fortine

Fortnite is progressively transforming from merely a game into a comprehensive platform, paving the way for Disney to establish its unique universe.

According to announcements, this new permanent universe will offer consumers a variety of opportunities to engage, including playing, watching, shopping, and interacting with content, characters, and narratives from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and beyond.

Furthermore, users will have the freedom to craft their own stories and experiences, celebrate their fandom in distinctively Disney ways, and share content with others in their preferred manner. All these experiences will be powered by Unreal Engine.

This partnership with Disney bears resemblance to Epic’s recent collaboration with Lego, which saw Epic receiving a $2 billion investment in 2022, leading to the release of the survival game Lego Fortnite earlier this year.

This collaboration between Disney and Fortnite is not unprecedented, as Fortnite already hosts a plethora of Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney characters. Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, commented on the collaboration: “We’re working together on something entirely new, aiming to create a lasting, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will merge the Disney and Fortnite communities.”