Disney and Fortnite company Epic Games to collaborate on new games and entertainment universe

On February 7, The Walt Disney Company and Fortnite developer Epic Games revealed their upcoming multiyear collaboration on brand new games and the expansion of the entertainment universe. In this new developing symbiotic professional relationship, Disney will also invest $1.5 billion for an equity stake in the gaming company.

A multitude of content centred around characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more will birth new opportunities for customers to explore. Powered by Unreal Engine, this initiative will also allow fans to create their own stories and wear the badge of their fandom's expression in a very Disney way.

What to expect from the Walt Disney and Epic Games collaboration?

Robert A Iger, the Chief Executive Officer at The Walt Disney Company, claims that their new relationship with Epic Games "will bring together Disney's beloved brand and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite". This entry allows Disney to tap into great potentials that have so far remained unharnessed.

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Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games, also confirmed, "…we're collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities".

The coming together of these fantastic worlds will significantly impact both companies with a broad audience that may have otherwise stayed restricted to their respective niche corners before.

Josh D'Amara, Chairman of Disney Experiences, agreed to the vision that with Epic Games' industry-leading technology and Fortnite's reach, customers would be able to “engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.”

Epic Games uses Unreal Engine to produce Disney assets and content in its video games. Kingdom Hearts 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are some examples. The same is also implemented across cinematic editing and animation for streaming and even the creation of Disney Parks attractions.

Disney is a leading games licensor. It's already got Marvel's Spider-Man, the best-selling superhero game of all time, listed in its portfolio. On top of that, Disney mobile games have touched the 1.5 billion installs mark worldwide. The new vision will practically allow the two companies to create a massive Disney World right next to Fortnite, thus ultimately interconnecting the two. This would open up the room for purchasing digital goods, even physical goods at some point, as the platform would be open to people interacting.

Both the companies have already been working together. However, this new collaboration will expand the levels of work they've invested in so far.