Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, recently secured $2 billion from Sony and the company behind Lego as companies race to build metaverse solutions
Epic Games: Beyond Fortnite
Epic Games is the company behind Fortnite, which is one of the most successful games in recent times. Fortnite has generated billions of dollars and grown to become one of the most successful gaming franchises in history.
Recently, Epic Games finalized a fresh round of funding to enable it to build new products and offer new services.
Epic Games is headquartered in North Carolina, USA, and the company just got $1 billion each from Kirkbi and Sony. Kirkbi is the company behind the Lego franchise, while Sony is a globally recognizable technology brand.
$2 billion is a significant amount of money, and the deal values Epic at $31.5 billion, and as part of the deal, Kirkbi will own 3% of Epic while Sony will own 4.9% of the company. The investment announcement comes after Lego and Epic announced during the first week of April that both parties had entered into a” long-term partnership” to create a metaverse for children.
Tim Sweeney, the Founder and CEO of Epic Games, shared the following concerning the latest funding round, “This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build a community and thrive.”
The investment by Sony was expected after Microsoft, one of the most prominent players in the gaming industry, acquired Activision Blizzard for $75 billion a couple of months ago.
Sony x Epic: Match made in heaven
After Microsoft’s acquisition, it was only a matter of time until Sony had to make a significant move. When we talk about gaming consoles worldwide, it’s a two-horse race between Microsoft’s X-box and Sony’s PlayStation, so these two entities are used to competing with each other.
The billion-dollar investment by Sony wasn’t the company’s first investment in Epic; in July 2020, the company invested $250 million, and in April 2021, Sony followed up with a $200 million investment in the company. After the latest investment, Sony’s total investment in Epic now stands at $1.45 billion.
Sony is wise to back Epic, and the fact that a seasoned investor like Kirkbi is also joining the investment board means that there’s a strong belief in the prospects of this company to deliver a world-class metaverse product.
Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony’s Chief Executive, shared the following concerning the investment, “We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”
Epic Games created a successful virtual world for its popular Fortnite game, and its Unreal Engine program gives us a glimpse into what a future Metaverse product from this company might entail.
