Sony and Kirkbi, the investment company behind Lego, are investing $2 billion in Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite.
The craze around the metaverse, a proposed network of vast virtual worlds, has shaken up the business world lately. This is how the Epic Games studio received two investments of one billion dollars each. Both installments come from Sony Group and KIRKBI, the parent company of The Lego Group.
As a reminder, Epic Games owns the Fortnite battle royale shooter franchise. This battle royale game allows hundreds of players to compete to be the last one standing.
A $2 million collaboration
A few days ago, KIRKBI, the parent company of Lego, announced a billion dollar investment for the benefit of Epic Games. Supplemented by another billion from Sony Group Corporationthe sum should help the American video game development and distribution studio shape the future of the metaverse.
“This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where gamers can have fun with their friends, where brands can create creative and immersive experiences, and where creators can build community and thrive”, said Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games.
A winning trio
In the same vein, the two investors also plan to collaborate for “to build an immersive, creative and engaging digital experience for children of all ages to enjoy together”.
According to the various statements of the leaders, the trio clearly plans to take advantage of the developments of the metaverse. And this, to power not only its own published titles, but also those of third-party creators and developers. Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said “convinced that Epic’s expertise, including its powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts, such as the development of new digital experiences for sports fans and our virtual production initiatives ”.
A thoughtful investment
As a reminder, this is Sony’s second round of investment in Epic Games. The company had made an initial investment of $ 250 million in July 2020. Because, even if it is best known as the company behind Fortnite, Epic Games is a video game juggernaut. For example, the company is behind Unreal Engine. It is one of the biggest platforms used to create games. It operates its own online game store, which competes with Microsoft and Valve.
For its part, Lego is no stranger to video games, having released numerous titles over the years. Namely, the brand new Lego Star Wars : The Skywalker Saga. Incidentally, Kirkbi’s investment comes less than a week following The Lego Group announced a long-term partnership with Epic. The goal ? Establish the guidelines for the future of the metaverse. Namely, the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, would value Epic at $31.5 billion.
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