Disney and Epic Games Create Universe*The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved fan-favorite Disney stories and experiences. Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside the multiyear project. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.In addition to being a world-class gaming experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the exciting and immersive new persistent universe is a multi-player social environment that will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers and families to play, watch, shop, and engage with all their favorite content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, Warner Bros., DC, Nickelodeon, and more. Players, gamers, and fans of all ages can go on adventures, solve puzzles, play games, create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, slime friends with plenty of Nickelodeon’s iconic green slime, and share content in ways that they love. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will let the millions of fans and families interact with Disney’s beloved properties and characters by bringing them together with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe filled with highly social, group worlds,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “This immersive experience marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for audiences of all ages to connect with the Disney stories and worlds they know and love in groundbreaking new ways.”“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their iconic properties to new audiences in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games. “Now we’re closely 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’s different divisions for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences. “Expanding some of the most popular franchises to new platforms is a critical part of our gaming strategy, and Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open, live-operated ecosystem make them an ideal partner for us to reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney on a massive scale in new and innovative ways that are most relevant to them.”,Disney and Epic Games will collaborate to create an expansive, open games and entertainment universe connected to Fortnite.Deepening the Epic Games & Disney RelationshipDisney and Epic Games have engaged hundreds of millions of players through Fortnite content integrations, season collaborations, in-game activations, and live events, including the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which drew over 15.3 million concurrent players.Unreal Engine is used to produce assets and content across the Disney portfolio, including in the development of video games like the Mortal Kombat franchise, Kingdom Hearts 3, The Matrix Awakens, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; in cinematic editing and animation for film and streaming; and the creation of more than 15 Disney Parks attractions like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.This all builds on Epic Games’ participation in the 2017 Disney Accelerator program, which seeks to impact the future of technology and entertainment.Games Industry Growth & Disney Games SuccessThe digital world is growing and evolving, with more than 3 billion video game players worldwide wanting to move safely and seamlessly between the worlds they love, unleash their own creativity, and experience great gameplay. Disney’s games business continues to deliver strong results since it shifted to a licensing business model in 2016. Adjacent to Warner Bros.’ games publishing business, Disney is a leading games licensor working with best-in-class developers and publishers, including the best-selling superhero game of all time, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and the highly popular SpongeBob Simulator and TMNT Battle Tycoon experiences on Roblox. Licensed games from Disney garnered over 150 award nominations, wins, and other accolades in 2023, including multiple Game of the Year nominations for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. Disney mobile games have 1.5 billion global installs, and to date, nine Disney game franchises have each grossed more than $1 billion in sales. In the U.S., the world’s largest games market, licensed titles from Disney regularly hit the annual top-10 best-sellers list.About The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands and products, Disney’s portfolio includes three core business segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. Disney holds one of the industry’s most extensive libraries of television, film, streaming, and gaming titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, the Company provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution, and advertising solutions. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $88.9 billion in its Fiscal Year 2023.For more information about Disney, please visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.com and follow @WaltDisneyCo on social platforms.
