Disney to Invest $1.5 Billion in Epic Games

The Walt Disney Company is investing $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside a multiyear agreement to collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe.

Disney will work with the Fortnite gaming studio on a new open, persistent and social universe that 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. It will interoperate with Fortnite and its more than 100 million active players and creators. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.

“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,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “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,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games. “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.”

“This will enable us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.”