Disney Invests $150 Crore in Epic Games; Will Create a Shared Fortnite Universe for Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, More

Game-changing

By Moulik Mathur

Disney x Epic Games

Disney has invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games and has also partnered up with them to create a new and persistent universe that will “interoperate” with Fortnite. Disney announced this news during its Q1 FY24 Earnings Call.

Big News

This is a mega announcement as the company behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine is now collaborating directly with Disney to create a universe filled with characters from Disney’s rich IP portfolio.

Shared Fortnite Universe for Disney IPs

As per the announcement, fans will be able to "play, watch, shop, and engage" with their favourite characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.

Unreal Engine 5

All of this will be powered by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. The UE5 is used to create assets and content in not just video games but also blockbuster movies and shows. This includes Disney’s games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, shows like The Mandalorian, and more.

Social Interaction and Content Sharing Teased

Through Unreal Engine, this new experience will allow players to “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," as per the announcement.

More Details

There has not been a lot revealed yet, but it is known that the plan from Disney and Epic Games is a “multi-year project”. While it’s still early days, perhaps we’re going to see something similar to how Epic Games has LEGO Fortnite, Fortnite Festival and Rocket Racing all exist within Fortnite. A shared universe for all Disney entities can be groundbreaking.