Main Highlights:
- Epic Games, the firm behind Fortnite, said today that it had raised $2 billion in cash from Sony and Kirkbi, the parent company of the Lego Group, with each contributing $1 billion.
- Epic’s most recent financing round puts the business at $31.5 billion in cash.
- Epic stated that the new funding would be utilized to develop its family-friendly metaverse further and fund the company’s future growth.
- Today’s announcement follows Epic’s announcement of a cooperation with Lego to build a children’s metaverse just days ago.
Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, stated today that it had secured $2 billion in capital from Sony and Kirkbi, the parent company of the Lego Group, with each business contributing $1 billion. Epic’s newest investment round values the company at $31.5 billion in the money stock. Epic said the additional money would be used to develop its kid-friendly metaverse further and support the company’s future expansion.
Today’s news comes only days after Epic announced a partnership with Lego to create a children’s metaverse. The corporations claim they will mold the metaverse’s future to make it safe and enjoyable for children while also creating an immersive digital environment for youngsters to play in. Epic states that with this additional financing, the three firms will focus on developing new forms of social entertainment that investigate the relationship between the digital and real worlds.
They require partners that share their vision as they rethink the future of entertainment and recreation. They discovered this through their cooperation with Sony and Kirkbi, Epic Games CEO and founder Tim Sweeney stated in a statement. This investment will speed their efforts to construct the metaverse and offer areas for gamers to interact with, companies to create innovative and immersive experiences, and creators to prosper.
Epic previously secured $1 billion in April 2021, including a $200 million investment from Sony Group Corporation. Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, GIC, T. Rowe Price Associates-managed accounts, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, BlackRock-managed accounts, Park West, KKR, AllianceBernstein, Altimeter, Franklin Templeton, and Luxor Capital, were also investors.
While Epic and Lego have not discussed their intended metaverse in-depth, they have stated three principles they believe will assure the safety of the digital areas they construct. The two organizations will collaborate to prioritize children’s safety and well-being, protect children’s privacy, and arm children and adults with tools that allow them control over their digital experiences.
Epic stated that the digital experience will be family-friendly and encourage youngsters to develop into “confident artists.” The corporations intend to pool their resources to ensure that the future internet generation is created with children’s safety in mind. There is yet no information on how the virtual world would appear or when the two corporations want to deploy it.
There is no detailed description of the “metaverse” at the moment, mainly because it does not exist, but it is widely viewed as a network of virtual places that will enable new forms of online connectivity. The metaverse concept is already dangerous for youngsters, compelling Epic and Lego to implement substantial precautions around their proposed virtual environment.
About Epic Games
Epic Games is an American corporation formed in 1991 by CEO Tim Sweeney. The firm is based in Cary, North Carolina, and has over 40 locations globally. Today, Epic is a market leader in interactive entertainment and a technology supplier for 3D engines. Epic Games is the publisher of Fortnite, one of the giant video games in the world, with over 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections. Additionally, Epic developed the Unreal Engine, which powers some of the world’s most popular games and is used in various sectors, including cinema and television, architecture, automotive, manufacturing, and simulation. Epic provides an end-to-end digital ecosystem for developers and artists to make, publish, and run games and other content via Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store, and Epic Online Services.