Fortnite developer Epic Games raises $2 billion to build for the metaverse

Epic Games, Sony, and Lego join hands to develop a safe metaverse world for kids, post the funding

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

Epic Games, the parent company behind the highly popular game Fortnite, has received $2 billion in funding from global entertainment giant Sony and investment company KIRKBI, which founded the Lego Group. The funds will be used to upholster Epic’s metaverse expansion plans. Sony and KIRKBI contributed $1 billion each to the funding round.

The April 11 announcement comes soon after Lego and Epic Games revealed a partnership to build a metaverse for kids.

Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games, said, “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”.

Epic Games is yet to reveal more information about what kind of technology will be used to develop the metaverse. Will the metaverse be decentralised like ‘The Sandbox’ and ‘The Decentraland’, which have attracted a huge number of players, investors, and famous artists, or will it be similar to the centralised concept behind Facebook’s Meta, is the question.

Epic Games confirmed that its metaverse would be based on the popular games and projects already released under its banner.

In April 2021, Epic Games had also raised $1 billion, including $200 million from Sony. The big funding rounds will be significant in advancing the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth. Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said, “We are 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”.

Sony has been deepening its reach in the metaverse space and acquired Destiny developer Bungie earlier this year. Epic Games is also the company behind Unreal Engine, which offers multiple tools to video game developers, content creators, and filmmakers. Epic Games was valued at $32 billion following the recent funding round. The company further said that the closing of the investment would be bound by customary closing conditions such as regulatory approvals.

On the trio’s plans of building a metaverse for kids, KIRKBI CEO Soren Thorup Sorenson averred that a proportion of the investments will be focused on the trends that will be significant in determining the future world that children will inhabit. The metaverse will be built around the principles of child safety, privacy, and well-being. The children and adults would be equally equipped with tools to give them control over what they want to experience in the metaverse digitally.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist.

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