The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games announced a new partnership, connecting Fortnite to Disney’s universe, but what does this mean and which characters are coming?
In recent years, Disney has invested heavily in the acquisition of different entertainment companies. Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm, home of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, are some of the companies that are now part of Disney. Despite this, the entertainment giant has conspicuously divested from video games, rolling back its previous efforts and instead licensing out its IPs for games like Star Wars Outlaws and Marvel’s Wolverine. That has changed, to some degree.
Disney is set to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games valued at $1.5 billion. The investment is part of a multi-year project between Disney and Epic Games. The new digital universe will allow users to play, watch, shop, and engage with Disney’s long list of IPs in a new way. The universe will be interconnected with Fortnite, so there will be a new roster of Disney characters joining the game.
This is the biggest investment Disney has made in the gaming industry. The company previously preferred a licensing model, which meant licensing the rights to its IPs to different game studios. Business news outlets reported in 2023 that there was an internal struggle in Disney’s leadership regarding video games. While a possible acquisition of EA Games was the main focus of these reports, this new partnership likely nixes those discussions.
What Disney characters are coming to Fortnite next?
It was not explained which Disney characters are going to be added to Fortnite after the deal with Epic Games. Instead, the announcement centered on a brand-new arm to Fortnite that will include Disney brands.
“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite…Now we’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement.
Disney and Epic Games have already worked together before. Fortnite players likely remember the Endgame event released as part of the promotion for the film Avengers: Infinity War. Players had to battle over Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet, which granted special powers to whoever wore it. There was later an entire season based around Marvel Comics.
There are plenty of Marvel and Disney skins already in Fortnite, including multiple iterations of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, and more. Fans can expect more to come over time, particularly as it relates to Star Wars, Marvel, Indiana Jones, and other brands where one can expect to see guns.
The partnership between Disney and Epic Games could see this expanded even further. While it’s highly unlikely that fans will see Mickey Mouse drop in and start shooting guns, Epic hinted at plans to add new facets to the game. Though players will likely see Avatar, Indiana Jones, and more Marvel skins in Fortnite in the future, don’t expect Donald Duck to gun anyone down.
