Disney flat out denies the rumours of a potential acquisition of Epic Games.
Dana Walden stated "Well I think that it was pretty obvious that we had very serious conversations about an investment and an equity stake," she said, before adding: "Those are not the conversations that we're having right now, but we have a great partnership and a number of launches coming up in the next two years that are going to demonstrate the value of this partnership."
Disney invested 1.5 billion dollars into Epic Games in 2024. Tim Sweeney revealed at the time that Epic would keep control of its board after the deal closed.
Alex Heath reported that some of the Disney executives were waiting for the right moment to go a step further.
What the money actually bought
Another part is the Mandalorian and Grogu promotions.
Fortnite created an island called Smugglers Gambit. Players who visited Disneyland for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run linked their Disney ID to their Fortnite ID at the ride.
"There's a light touch of personalisation on the actual ride, and then the digital rewards that you win on the ride are redeemable back in Fortnite," Walden explained. "That experience created so many impressions and awareness for The Mandalorian and Grogu, so there will continue to be events that lift these libraries forever."
A theme park ride that knows who you are in a video game, and pays out into it. It is unique integration of a partnership.
Previous crossovers have brought in Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles, The Nightmare Before Christmas, plus repeated Star Wars and Marvel drops. Epic Games is used as a promotion launchpad by Disney.
The persistent games and entertainment universe
On top of it, Disney and Epic announced a connected universe alongside the investment, with Josh D'Amaro framing it as a chance to "bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before."
It hasn't launched. Walden's two-year window is the clearest timeline anyone has given.
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