![The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/d14b4f5f2765aad400bc49b9e855ab85.jpg)
Disney is making its largest push but into video video games. On February 7, the Mouse Home and Fortnite creator Epic Video games introduced plans to create new video games and an leisure universe the place shoppers can “play, watch, store and have interaction with content material, characters and tales from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and extra,” firm representatives stated in a press launch.
“Our thrilling new relationship with Epic Video games will carry collectively Disney’s beloved manufacturers and franchises with the vastly widespread Fortnite in a transformational new video games and leisure universe,” stated Disney CEO Robert Iger. “This marks Disney’s largest entry ever into the world of video games and presents vital alternatives for development and enlargement. We are able to’t look ahead to followers to expertise the Disney tales and worlds they love in groundbreaking new methods.”
“Disney was one of many first corporations to consider within the potential of bringing their worlds along with ours in Fortnite, they usually use Unreal Engine throughout their portfolio,” stated Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. “Now we’re collaborating on one thing totally new to construct a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that may carry collectively the Disney and Fortnite communities.”
This isn’t the primary time Disney and Epic have collaborated. Fortnite has hosted a number of Star Wars-themed occasions over time, together with final 12 months’s Discover the Drive occasion honoring the Prequel Trilogy. Again in 2020, Fortnite’s Nexus Warfare with Galactus occasion based mostly within the Marvel universe drew greater than 15.3 million concurrent gamers, in line with the press launch saying the deal.
Whereas it’s tempting to consider Disney as primarily a producer of flicks, TV, and Child Yoda merch, it’s had a finger within the gaming pie for a while. This little nugget from the press launch shocked me a little bit. “Licensed video games from Disney garnered greater than 150 award nominations, wins and different accolades in 2023, together with a number of Recreation of the Yr nominations for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Disney cell video games have 1.5 billion world installs, and thus far, 9 Disney video games franchises have every grossed greater than $1 billion in gross sales.” Who knew?
Anyway, congratulations to each these desperately cash-strapped corporations who so sorely wanted an opportunity to make more cash.