Disney licenses connected to Fortnite
At Metropolis Chronicle, we love to look back at the history of games. In July 2017, Epic Games introduced a new cooperative shooting game that required four players to survive hordes of zombies. It was Fortnite: Save the World. A few months later, the studio developed another experience, Fortnite Battle Royale, and offered it as free-to-play. This latter game was so successful that the title is still among the most played games today. To maintain the interest of players, besides the intrinsic qualities of Fortnite, Epic Games works on numerous collaborations. Recently, this has allowed adding three experiences to the universe, Fortnite LEGO, Rocket Racing (in partnership with Psyonix, the studio of Rocket League) and Fortnite Festival (in collaboration with Harmonix, the studio of Guitar Hero and Rock Band) or even the Solid Snake skin. This time, the announcement goes much further since The Walt Disney Company is investing in Epic Games to develop a persistent universe connected to Fortnite!
Licenses galore
Imagine a universe where Disney fans can create their own stories, live their own experiences, and share their content with each other... Don't imagine anymore, this is going to become real since The Walt Disney Company has just announced a collaboration with Epic Games to set up a persistent universe where fans can play, watch, and buy content. They will be able to find characters and stories from the company's entire catalog, including all Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, or Avatar licenses. Everything will run on Unreal Engine and will be connected to Fortnite.
More than a collaboration, an investment
This collaboration between Disney and Epic Games goes beyond a simple meeting of universes since The Walt Disney Company announced investing 1.5 billion dollars to acquire shares in Epic Games. Enough to best ensure the future of this multi-year project. Of course, before the transaction is finalized, regulatory approvals will be needed.
Disney and Epic Games, it makes perfect sense
Fortnite players know it, Disney and Epic Games have already collaborated together since we have already had content based on Star Wars, Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel's Avengers: Endgame, Deadpool, Ant-Man, Captain America, Thanos, Loki, Shang-Chi, Carnage, Gamora, The Mandalorian, and many others. On the other hand, games like Kingdom Hearts 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have been developed under Unreal Engine, which has also been used to create more than fifteen attractions for Disney parks, including Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The relationship between the two companies is therefore not new, and this new step finally marks a logical evolution in their relationship.
