Sony Invests 1 Billion Into Epic Games’ Metaverse Development

Epic Game has announced it has received a $2 billion investment into its metaverse development, half of which comes from Sony.

The PlayStation maker, which already has a minority interest in Epic, has thrown $1 billion at the Unreal and Fortnite developer to create “new social entertainment exploring the connection between digital and physical worlds,” according to a press release. The remaining billion is from Kirkbi Investment Holding Company, which owns the majority of The Lego Group. Epic last week announced that it had partnered with Lego in order to build a child-friendly metaverse. The press release states that today’s investment would bring Epic’s estimated valuation to 31.5 billion. 

“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,” said Sony Group president, chairman, and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida in the press release. “We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”

Epic released Unreal Engine 5 last Wednesday, which will be used to develop any non-Fortnite metaverse Epic may have in mind. Tech companies are continuing to define and popularize the term “metaverse” as they develop new versions. Epic is seemingly ahead of the curve more than most businesses, given that Fortnite already embodies many of the “all-encompassing digital world” elements a metaverse is often presented as, making Sony’s investment understandable from that sense. 

In July 2020, Sony made a $250 million investment in Epic, which gave it a minority stake to improve and expand the collaboration on technology for digital ecosystems. Despite today’s investments, the press release notes that Epic still has a single class of common stock outstanding and that Tim Sweeny remains in control as CEO. The fruits of this partnership and Epic’s metaverse remain to be seen and likely won’t be for some time, but today’s news is another substantial monetary step towards making those plans a reality.