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Disney Buys $1.5 Billion Stake in Epic Games
to Create 'Expansive' Universe Within Fortnite
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This universe will star our favorite characters from Disney,
Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.

Disney has purchased a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games and
teamed up with the company to develop a new expansive, open,
persistent, and social universe that will "interoperate"
with Fortnite and let fans "play, watch, shop, and engage"
with their favorite characters and stories from Disney,
Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.

The news was revealed during Disney's Q1 FY24 Earnings Call
and it was announced that this new experience built in Unreal
Engine will let players "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."

"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, Chief Executive
Officer, 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, 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 marks Disney's biggest entry ever into the world of games
and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion.

No further details were given about the project or when fans
can expect it to arrive, but it is said to be a "multi-year
project" and looks to expand on many of the times Disney and
Epic have worked together in Fortnite. In addition to there
being Marvel and Star Wars skins in the game, there have also
been such live events as the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus
that brought in 15.3 million concurrent players.

This new experience will most likely work in a similar fashion
to LEGO Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, in that
they exist within Fortnite but are separate games that you
launch from the game itself.

<https://www.ign.com/articles/disney-buys-15-billion-stake-in-epic-games-to-create-expansive-universe-within-fortnite>