Yahoo Finance Sony invests $250m in Fortnite-owner Epic Games
Sony has invested $250m (£195.4m) in Fortnite owner Epic Games ahead of the looming launch of the Playstation 5.
The investment gives Sony a 1.4pc stake in the company and has valued Epic at around $17.86bn.
Despite Sony’s spend, it will not be enough to guarantee exclusivity for Epic titles including battle royale hit Fortnite. Instead, the pair said it “cements an already close relationship” between the two companies.
In a statement, the companies said that the deal will “broaden their collaboration” across Sony’s portfolio of entertainment technology.
“Epic’s powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations,” Sony chairman Kenichiro Yoshida said.
“There’s no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience, Fortnite. Through our investment, we will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games, but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape.”
Epic chief executive said that both Sony and Epic had built businesses at the “intersection of creativity and technology” and that the two businesses will strive to build an “even more open and accessible digital ecosystem”.
Sony’s investment represents a sizable endorsement of Epic’s monster hit Fortnite. The game, which some view instead as a social platform, at one point had accumulated 250 million players.
It demonstrated its mass appeal and ability to host social events when rapper Travis Scott performed a concert in it to millions of people.
Epic also boasts Tencent, Disney, and KKR as minority backers.
The company also caved to the demands of Google’s Play Store recently and launched Fortnite there too.
