The Walt Disney Company has announced a collaboration with Epic Games to create an all-new games and entertainment universe that is connected to Fortnite.
Alongside the collaboration, Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire equity stakes in the multiyear project.
As said by Disney, 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.
Disney aims to allow gamers and fans to create their own stories, experiences and share content with each other in ways that they love through the utilisation of Unreal Engine.
“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, CEO of Disney.
“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.”
In announcing the collaboration, Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games, 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.”
Epic Games and Disney have collaborated multiple times on different projects, with the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus crossover event in Fortnite being one of the most notable, drawing in more than 15.3 million concurrent players throughout its duration.
Epic Games has also contributed Unreal Engine technology to produce Disney assets such as video games, cinematic editing and animations, and even in the creation of Disney Parks attractions.