Fortnite maker Epic Games gets $2 billion investment from Sony and Lego

Both Sony and Lego invested $1 Billion in Epic Games. FortniteOn Monday, maker made the announcement. It comes just four days after Epic & Lego announced they are teaming up for a family-friendly Metaverse.

Kirkbi is The Lego Group’s holding company. This money will be put into Epic. It is therefore not directly funding that project. Sony’s investment triples its stake in Epic Games, on top of the $250 million it put into Epic in 2020 and the $200 million it added a year later.

“We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts,” Kenichiro Yoshido, Sony’s chief executive, said in a statement provided by Epic. Epic Games unveiled Unreal Engine 5 last week.

For their part, Kirkbi’s chief executive Søren Thorup Sørensen noted “a proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in.” The $1 billion stake aligns with that mission, Sørensen said.

The investment and the executives’ statements all align with Epic’s broader strategy of defining and administering the “metaverse,” a concept that Facebook, Microsoft, and others have latched onto over the past four years. Epic’s “metaverse” has largely taken place within FortniteThird-party marketers often collaborate on virtual skins and other items or host virtual events such as trailer premieres or concerts at.

Epic chief executive and founder Tim Sweeney said in the same statement that “this investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build a community and thrive.”

Monday’s statement said Epic Games is now valued at $31.5 billion, up another $3 billion from last year’s buy-ins. Sweeney continues to control Epic Games’ stock.