Disney executives are reportedly eager on totally shopping for Fortnite developer Epic Video games in some unspecified time in the future.
The declare comes from veteran tech reporter Alex Heath, through The City podcast, who mentioned that senior executives have been ready for the fitting second to make a bid for the metaverse sport, following Disney’s prior $1.5 billion funding in developer Epic Video games.
Fortnite is the jewel within the crown of Epic’s portfolio — alongside its pervasive improvement toolkit Unreal Engine — and a big cash spinner. However the previous yr has been rocky for the sport — one thing that led to Epic Video games shedding 1,000 workers members final week, due partially to a downturn in engagement by 2025.
Disney, in the meantime, is already closely invested in Fortnite, with a dozens of character skins and crossovers already a part of the sport (together with Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Disney animated characters) and a long-awaited Disney-specific mode that is set to supply followers a spot to play, watch, create and store.
“I do know for a truth there are senior executives in Disney who need them to purchase Epic and are simply ready for that second,” Heath mentioned, “after which there are others who assume it is a unhealthy concept. If Epic ever bought, if it ever determined to name it quits on being an impartial firm, Disney can be essentially the most pure dwelling for it for lots of causes.”
Right here, Heath referenced the upcoming Disney mode — idea artwork for which appears to be like like a digital Disneyland park with varied themed areas — and the concept it simply turned “Disney’s gaming platform.” Regardless of two years of improvement work, nevertheless, there’s nonetheless no suggestion of when it’ll lastly arrive.
Final yr, Sweeney blasted a Wall Avenue Journal report that claimed improvement of the mode was being hampered by gradual decision-making at Disney, one thing he claimed was “BS.” Nonetheless, that report said that the mode — introduced again in March 2024 — wouldn’t be prepared earlier than this fall, one thing which is anticipated to be borne out by actuality.
“Epic is a founder-controlled firm,” Heath continued. “Tim Sweeney has full voting inventory management and may make unilateral choices and it is actually as much as him. As we noticed, he was the man who went to bat in opposition to the App Shops, in opposition to Apple and Google to open these up. And it is virtually an ideological campaign whenever you’re working an organization like Epic to do one thing like that. And he even acknowledges within the layoff electronic mail that it value [Epic].”
One Disney govt who strongly backed the corporate’s funding in Fortnite was Josh D’Amaro — the identical one that just lately gained the race to change into the corporate’s new CEO. Whereas his tenure has solely simply begun, it is believed that D’Amaro will wish to rapidly make his mark within the position this yr — and he has beforehand remarked that the launch of Fortnite’s Disney mode will likely be a serious second for the corporate going ahead.
Simply this week, former long-term Disney govt Kevin Mayer mentioned he anticipated D’Amaro to make “daring steps” this yr and develop the corporate’s gaming output. “I feel Epic or another online game asset can be an amazing addition to The Walt Disney Firm’s asset base,” Mayer instructed CNBC.
Fortnite itself has usually struggled to launch different modes for its sport that stray too removed from its core battle royale proposition. Curiosity has waned for the racing, music and LEGO modes it launched to fanfare in late 2023, and Epic has beforehand admitted that it is struggled to totally clarify to shoppers that Fortnite is greater than only a battle royale. However plans are seemingly afoot for some form of new period, as talked about by Sweeney in his electronic mail on the layoffs. “We’ll be kicking off the following era of Epic with large launch plans in direction of the top of the yr,” he wrote.
Saying the layoffs final week, Sweeney mentioned Epic Video games had reacted to a downturn in curiosity for Fortnite that started in 2025, although analysts instructed IGN that fewer folks taking part in the sport’s veteran battle royale was solely considered one of its issues. The corporate has spent years preventing pricey authorized battles with Apple and Google, whereas bankrolling the Epic Video games Retailer because it makes an attempt to rival Steam. After which there’s the explosive development of Roblox, which Fortnite has now fallen far behind. Many followers really feel like it’s Epic Video games’ personal workers which have paid the value, whereas those that stay on the firm say they merely do not know the way Fortnite will look later this yr and past with near 1 / 4 of the corporate’s workers gone. Maybe the sport’s huge new Disney providing will flip it throughout?
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You may attain Tom at [email protected] or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social