ALBAWABA – Disney has announced in its Quarterly Earnings Call for Jan. that it has acquired a $1.5 billion stake at Fortnite creator Epic Games, with a collaboration on the way to create new game titles in what they call an “Entertainment Universe” that features a list of Disney’s brands like Avatar, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, where players according to the announcement can “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories.”
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, described this step in an interview with CNBC as the company’s biggest bet on Video Games ever, adding that this collaboration provides enormous possibilities for innovation and development, sharing his excitement for fans to experience Disney’s worlds and characters in new creative ways.
On the other hand, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games said “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,” explaining that the new partnership will unite the Disney and Fortnite’s communities together in a new interconnected and long-lasting ecosystem.
Disney has recently been successful in acquiring licensing rights for different characters like Spider-Man, which allowed them to bring many of their characters to Epic’s Fortnite as well as creating in-game events like Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which witnessed over 15.3 million concurrent players.
While no further details were released, aside from an announcement trailer that shows a number of Disney and Fortnite scenes with hints at what to expect, with a release time of “Soon(ish),” IGN reports that this project is planned to be across many years.
