Sony Group and the owners of The Lego Group are investing $2 billion into Fortnite studio Epic Games as the company continues its mission to create a metaverse.
Sony Group and KIRKBI–the holding an investment company that runs The Lego Group–are each investing $1 billion into Epic Games. This is just the latest investment from Sony, which has already invested $450 million into Epic Games over the years.
As for Lego, its investment is no surprise, either, as Epic and Lego just announced a massive deal to create new family-friendly virtual playspaces aimed at children.
Sony Group CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said, “We are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time. 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.”
KIRKBI CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen added, “A proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in. This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse.”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said Epic needs partners “who share our vision” for the “future of entertainment,” and those companies include Sony and Lego.
“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,” Sweeney said.
With this new $2 billion investment, Epic said it’s now valued at $31.5 billion. Epic founder and CEO, Sweeney, continues to control the company, which has only a single class of common stock.
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