In a massive development on February 7, Disney announced it had entered a collaboration with Epic Games that would see the two mass media giants work on a new games and entertainment universe to expand the reach of the former's stories and experiences. The multinational entertainment conglomerate added that it will also invest $1.5B to acquire an equity stake in the Fortnite developer, with the transaction still subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
The two companies have teamed up to build an "expansive and open games and entertainment universe," but there are minimal details on what it will look like. However, Disney had this to say about this metaverse-like project in its official statement:
"In addition to being 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. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine."
Of course, the two organizations have joined hands for many prior projects for the legendary builder shooter, including season collaborations, in-game activations, and live events. This sustained relationship has seen multiple Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney characters featuring in the game, with a few even playable or collectible for fans of these franchises.
In fact, the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus spectacle from December 2020 drew more than 15.3M concurrent players. More importantly, as it came right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic’s lockdown era, it ended as one of Fortnite's most popular live events on Twitch.
Robert A. Iger, the Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, had this to say about a new games and entertainment universe in Fortnite:
"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. 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."
Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO and Founder Tim Sweeney noted that Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing the two worlds together. The two will now collaborate on something entirely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.
It has to be pointed out that Epic Games had entered a similar recent collaboration with Lego. It received a $2 billion investment from the latter in 2022 and saw the launch of the survival game — Lego Fortnite — last December.
This release was part of Fortnite's new era where its publisher was looking to push and expand it beyond just the battle royale gameplay, meaning it would transform into a platform for other games and experiences. Alongside Lego Fortnite, there were also the launches of Fortnite Festival (a music game from the creators of Rock Band) and Rocket Racing (a racer from the studio behind Rocket League).
Moreover, Rocket League, which comes under the Epic Games umbrella, will get a Mandalorian-themed update that includes a Grogu car topper. This is the extent of the metaverse's debut for now, but the collaboration will undoubtedly shake up the video gaming and entertainment industries, whether for good or bad, remains to be seen.