08 February 2024 , 12:24
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Disney has invested $1.5billion into Fortnite maker Epic Games to create an "Expansive and Open Games and Entertainment Universe Connected to Fortnite".
Disney and Epic Games have always been pretty friendly during the Fortnite era, one of the first major Fortnite collabs I can remember was the Avengers Infinity War crossover which brought Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet to the game to celebrate the movie. Since then, we've had Thor playing Fortnite in Avengers Endgame, an entire Marvel-themed season in Chapter 2 Season 4, and countless other Disney-owned collabs like Family Guy, Star Wars, Jack Skellington, and countless more Marvel collabs.
Now Disney has taken it one step further, with the company investing $1.5billion into Epic Games to acquire an equity stake in the company, this is alongside the two companies collaborating on "an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences".
The investment's main goal is to create an "Expansive and Open Games and Entertainment Universe connected to Fortnite", which to me sounds like Fortnite is about to plunge even further into the metaverse hole it's currently in. The press release from Disney claims that "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".
What's the meta
Considering Disney has tried and failed to run it's own gaming division before now it's no surprise that it is doubling down on Epic Games and Fortnite, considering previous collaborations have been very successful for both parties. While I don't think this means we'll see Mickey Mouse running around with a rifle any time soon, I can imagine we'll see side games in the vein of Lego Fortnite appear in-game.
Why Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's six week delay is a good thing
That being said, I hope this doesn't prove to be a bad omen for other Disney games. Since closing down Disney Interactive back in 2016, Disney has been licensing its properties out to other studios, and it's resulted in some of the best games ever based on them. Marvel's Spider-Man and Star Wars Jedi titles are often great games, and will undoubtedly keep being made, but smaller titles like Disney Illusion Island and Return to Monkey Island could get lost in the shuffle. Let's hope not.