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The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new universe of games and entertainment that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences. Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to take an equity stake in Epic Games alongside the multi-year project. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
In addition to being a world-class gaming experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, purchase and interact with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars . , Avatar and more. Players, gamers and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctive Disney way and share content with each other in the way they like. All of this will be powered by Unreal Engine.
“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will unite beloved Disney brands and franchises with the wildly popular Fortnite in a transformative new universe of games and entertainment,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “This marks Disney’s largest entry into gaming and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in new and innovative ways.”
“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 entire portfolio,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games. “Now we are collaborating on something completely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring the Disney and Fortnite communities together.”
“This will allow us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company to a broad audience in ways we have only previously dreamed of,” said Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Experiences. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can interact with Disney in the way that’s most relevant to them.”
Deepening the relationship between Epic Games and Disney
Disney and Epic Games have engaged hundreds of millions of players through Fortnite content integrations, seasonal collaborations, in-game activations, and live events, including Marvel. Nexus War with Galactuswhich attracted more than 15.3 million simultaneous players.
Unreal Engine is used to produce assets and content across Disney’s portfolio, including the development of video games such as Kingdom Hearts 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; in film editing and animation for film and streaming; and in the creation of more than 15 Disney Park attractions such as Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Edge of the galaxy.
All of this is based on Epic Games’ participation in the Disney Accelerator 2017 program, which seeks to impact the future of technology and entertainment.
Growth of the game industry and success of Disney games
The digital world is growing and evolving with more than 3 billion video game players around the world who want to move safely and seamlessly between the worlds they love, unleash their own creativity, and experience a great gaming experience.
Disney’s games business continues to deliver strong results since shifting to a licensing business model in 2016. Disney is a leading games licensor working with best-in-class developers and publishers, including Disney’s best-selling superhero game. all the times. Marvel’s Spider-Man. Disney-licensed games earned more than 150 award nominations, wins, and other recognition in 2023, including multiple Game of the Year nominations for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Disney mobile games have 1.5 billion global installs, and to date, nine Disney game franchises have each grossed more than $1 billion in sales. In the United States, the world’s largest gaming market, Disney-licensed titles regularly appear on the annual top 10 best-seller list.
About the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media company that includes three primary business segments: entertainment, sports and experiences. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenue of $88.9 billion in its fiscal year 2023.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are used below to refer collectively to The Walt Disney Company and the subsidiaries through which its various businesses are conducted.
Certain statements and information in this communication may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company’s business or financial expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, prospects or prospects. , trends, opportunities and drivers of future growth; future product or service offerings (including nature, timing and price), consumer sentiment, priorities or demand and drivers; our expected benefits from collaboration with Epic Games and other statements that are not historical in nature. These statements are made based on the Company’s views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance and plans at the time the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements unless required by applicable laws or regulations, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such differences may result from actions taken by the Company, including restructuring or strategic initiatives or other business decisions, as well as from developments outside the control of the Company, including: the occurrence of subsequent events; deterioration in national or global economic conditions or failure to improve conditions as anticipated; deterioration or pressures arising from competitive conditions, including competition to create or acquire content; competition for talent and competition for advertising revenue; consumer preferences and acceptance of our content, offerings, pricing model and price increases, and corresponding subscriber additions and churns, and the advertising sales market on our direct-to-consumer services and linear networks; health concerns and their impact on our businesses and productions; international, political or military events; regulatory and legal developments; technological developments; labor markets and activities, including work stoppages; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; and content availability. Such developments may further affect the entertainment, travel and leisure businesses generally and may, among other things, affect (or further affect, as applicable): our operations, business plans or profitability, including direct-to-consumer profitability; our expected benefits from collaboration with Epic Games; demand for our products and services; performance of the Company’s content; our ability to create or source desirable content at or below the value we assign; the programming advertising market; income from tax expenses; and the performance of some or all of the Company’s businesses, either directly or through its impact on those who distribute our products.
Additional factors are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September. December 30, 2023, including under the headings “Risk factors”, “Discussion and analysis of the administration of the Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business”, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, including under the titles “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.