Disney is planning to create new games and an entertainment universe in collaboration with Fortnite creator Epic Games after investing $1.5 billion in a stake in the company. The aim is that the content will “further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences” within the hugely successful battle royale game.
The Disney and Epic Games collaboration is a multi-year project
The multi-year project will seemingly create an experience within Fortnite that is similar to the recently released Fortnite: Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and LEGO Fortnite. The trailer showed an extremely brief glimpse of a series of interlinked islands with a wide range of Disney properties visible.
This will be a “persistent universe” where players can create their own Disney stories and experiences, as well as “express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way.” The hope is that the experience will let gamers “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.”
Of course, Disney x Fortnite collaborations are nothing new. There are already player skins from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Star Wars, and Marvel, and there have been in-game events like the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus. Epic Games CEO and Founder Tim Sweeney 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. 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.
Disney CEO Robert A. Iger described the plans as “Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games.” The huge $1.5 billion investment, which will be used for an equity stake in Epic Games as well as for the creation of the new games, is still subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. However, neither Disney or Epic Games seem to be anticipating any problems seeing as the games and entertainment universe is expected to be released “soon(ish).”