Sony and the company that controls Lego both invested $1 billion in Epic Games, Fortnite manufacturer announced on Monday. The news comes four days after Epic and Lego said they had cooperate to build a family-friendly metaverse.
Kirkbi, the parent company that owns The Lego Group, is investing money in Epic, so it’s not a direct funding of that metaverse project. Sony’s investment triples its stake in Epic Games, on 250 million dollars it’s included in Epic in 2020 and 200 million dollars it was added a year later.
“We also believe that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technology, will advance our various efforts,” said Kenichiro Yoshido, managing director. Sony’s operating system, said in a statement provided by Epic. Epic game Unreal Engine 5 released one week ago.
For his part, Kirkbi chief executive Søren Thorup Sørensen notes that “part of our investment is focused on trends that we believe will impact the future world in which we and our children live.” will live”. Sørensen said the $1 billion stake fits that mission.
The investment and statements of executives are both in line with Epic’s broader strategy of identifying and managing “metaverse”, a concept that Facebook, Microsoft and others have embraced over the past four years. Epic’s “Metaverse” mainly takes place in Fortnitewhere third-party marketers have regularly collaborated themed skins and other virtual itemsor staged virtual events like launch trailer or concert.
Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney also said in the same statement that “this investment will advance our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun. With friends, brands can build rich and creative experiences, and creators can build a community and grow.”
Monday’s statement said Epic Games is now valued at $31.5 billion, an increase of $3 billion from last year’s purchases. The company notes that Epic, which is privately held, is still controlled by Sweeney.
