This 2024 seems to follow in the footsteps of what 2023 was, with massive layoffs and unprecedented commercial agreements. And it’s not just Microsoft anymore who opens their wallet and asks: how much is your company worth?
Disney will invest 1.5 billion dollars in Epic Games, as announced on Wednesday by its CEO, Bob Iger, in its biggest bet to date in the video game sector.
The media giant will work with the studio behind Fortnite to create new games and an entertainment universe where consumers can “play, watch, buy, and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more,” Disney said in its press release.
What does this agreement mean for Disney and Epic Games
In an interview with Julia Boorstin from CNBC, Iger described the investment as “probably our biggest foray into the gaming space”.
“I believe that not only is it timely, but it is also an important step when considering the demographic trends and how Generation Alpha, Generation Z, and even millennials spend their time and resources,” he stated in the interview below.
The partnership comes after Disney successfully licensed characters like Spider-Man for highly successful video games, and collaborated with Epic to bring Marvel, Star Wars, Nightmare Before Christmas, or Tron characters to their most powerful IP: Fortnite.
The agreement also expands a series of important partnerships for Epic. Fortnite has recently collaborated with Lego for a survival crafting game within the gaming platform similar to Minecraft. It also launched Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game by Harmonix, creator of the game Rock Band.
“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of merging their worlds with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine throughout their portfolio,” said Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney in a statement.
“We are now collaborating on something completely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities,” commented the CEO of Epic Games.
This union is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful collaborations in history between the audiovisual sector and the gaming sector. We hope that entertainment wins and not layoffs.
