Sony has invested an eye-watering $250 million into Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine. The transaction makes the Japanese giant a minority shareholder, alongside organisations such as Chinese juggernaut Tencent which purchased a 40 per cent stake in the firm back in 2012. According to a statement from both firms, the deal cements an already close relationship, as the pair “work together to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially connected online services”.
For many, this will explain why Epic Games decided to debut its new Unreal Engine 5 technology running in realtime on PlayStation 5 hardware. Fortnite – and other Epic Games properties and technologies – will continue to exist on other platforms, although Sony’s portfolio of entertainment assets will be leveraged by the developer to “create unique experiences for consumers and creators”. An interesting development, then, and one that seems destined to expand beyond PlayStation, as the organisations discuss an “intersection of creativity and technology” which will “lead to a convergence of gaming, film, and music”.
[source venturebeat.com]
Comments 61
Lmao, this comment section will be good. gets popcorn
Oh no. No no no. /charlimit
No we know why Epic had been praising the PS5 architecture so hard
WOW Fantastic move by Sony.
We all know it that exclusives win the console war, so more news like this to follow from both Sony and Microsoft.
This explains the new Unreal Engine Demo was done on a PS5.
Is the next Gears of War going to be on PS5 now as well as Xbox???
Easy money I guess plus other benefits
Interesting... I wonder what this will mean for exclusives coming from epic.
Article needs a Tim Sweeny with his cup pic.
🥤
@I_Like_It Microsoft own the rights to it
There will be no exclusives from Epic, it's just a minority stake. This appears to be about more than just PlayStation.
The way they're talking makes me think of stuff like the recent Travis Scott concert they did in Fortnite. I could see more crossovers like that involving Sony Music artists, PlayStation franchises, and Sony Pictures films.
And they also appear to be partnering on technology, which is good because you end up with stuff like that Unreal tech demo.
@get2sammyb that would make sense given epic’s foray into music/film with fortnite shows and that being right in Sony’s wheelhouse...not to mention the benefits of having easy access for the tech for their movie and music video productions.
Clever purchase. Unreal engine will also be an important player in future movie FX. It's really well utilized in the mandolorian and the lion king.
@MarcG420 Exactly, like it says in the article, it's about them cementing an already tight relationship. There are lots of little benefits here, both for PlayStation and Sony as a whole. There are even incentives for stuff like VR!
It's not the kind of thing that's going to be huge for people on this site, but I think it'll be a good transaction for Sony overall.
@tameshiyaku That's a good shout about movie FX as well, I didn't know that!
This is a clever move by Sony. Whilst it may not be exclusive games as a result. The recent deal with Remedy, Play dead and the Fumito Ueda studio showed epic games has plans for consoles down the road beyond Fortnite. For Sony to be part of that discussion is only a good thing for us gamers. (And ensures hope that Ueda's new game should definitely come to PS5)
So that's what all the PS5 praising was about.
Tim Sweeney pandering to his new partial bosses.
@get2sammyb yeah, environments that can be projected on huge backdrops instead of green screens. So the actors have more to work with and the stage can be edited on the fly, amazing stuff. There's a making of doc on Disney plus.
@I_Like_It no, it's owned by microsoft
It's smart to invest on epic games that made unreal game engine since there's so many developers that use the engine.
Good investment. Seeing as a ton of games are built on Epic's engines, means Sony will make money even if it never comes to a PS platform. Smart imo
@get2sammyb Do we know the minority percentage they now own?
Edit* I've worked it out based on the last estimated value of Epic which was a surprisingly high $17 billion. So by my calculations then its roughly about 1.5%
@get2sammyb So Sony paid $250m just to get some ass kissing from Tim Sweeney?
"I could see more crossovers " that's been happening before this, they do crossovers with everyone all the time, I personally don't think that's worth $250. Sony could have used this to buy a studio but if this makes them happy then sure 🤷
Now we know why EPIC has been PS5 mega champion 😉
But really, UE5 looks incredible. Probably be the go to Engine to easily get RayTracing and manage loading NextGen. This is a great investment.
EA should have done this and gotten rid of Frostbite.
Sony splashing the cash. Also it's clear as day now Epic and Sony have something planned
Jazz Jackrabbit Remastered incoming...
Good investment but also think Sony should invest more in their Online Network Infrastructure especially PSN, A lot of possibilities they should consider it to make the Playstation brand more solid in the future
In the far future when there will be no Playstation Consoles anymore, they have to have something that'll keep the spirit of the brand alive in some shape or form
Wonder how this will plan out in the future. Also considering unreal engine is widely used and Fortnite is enormous it means they'll be getting a nice return on their investment
More first party games are about to show up on the Epic Games Store!
@AzlanWake13 I don't believe that will happen maybe no disc drive? but I believe we will see a Playstation 6 or whatever they want to call it.
@Agramonte Exactly, with all the money they get from micro transactions and other EA bull, they could easily afford the licensing fees for Unreal Engine 5.
@I_Like_It Microsoft acquired the Gears of War IP from Epic long ago now.
Am i correct in assuming this investment very much is a drop in the ocean for Epic Games? So Sony really will be the definition of minority investor. An interesting move nonetheless.
Still hope Microsoft dont have any more studio acquisitions going into next gen
There's a lot of talk about studios being bought, or invested in, by publishers at the moment. I hope we don't see a Hollywood situation where there's only 3 big players controlling most of the content.
I don't know, could be less than 5 percent actually
@Dange Just had a look and while I don't have a definite answer but apparently epic is worth around 17bn so I'd say 10/20%
@Ben8371 it’s actually 1.47% if they made the deal at the current market valuation of $17,000,000,000.
@get2sammyb sammy there are actually already a few exclusives from epic (timed) neko
@MarcG420 yeah just saw that on venturebeat.com. alot of money for such a small slice.
@Ben8371 there are likely other benefits baked into the deal to sweeten the pot so-to-speak.
License free use for their media would be a big one (or reduced fees). Some others too that savvy business people likely though ahead about as well...
@Kidfried 1.5%
@I_Like_It What makes you think that? Epic hasn't made a Gears of War game in years, and no longer own the IP.
Unreal 3 or Unreal remake for PS5 please.
$250M for Tim Sweeney to A$$ licking the PS5 SSD on twitter and media.
What a bargain...
@STLamy
It does sound like it.
The percentage of the shares owned isn't just determined by the amount of money to market value. We have no idea what else has been agreed as part of commercial agreements. Either way we're not likely to know the true value of any investment.
Too bad Epic won't make a new Unreal Tournament.
It's just hard to let go, ya know?
This is so Sony can make the Fortnite Movie!
@MarcG420 it means nothing as far as exclusives! The $250 million Sony invested into Epic amounts to less than a 2% stake of the company. It's still a smart move and will make Sony money in the long run but let's also not pretend this is a 50/50 partnership...
@Mafia_Man19 to be fair; you don’t know what the terms of the contract are so you can’t say it means nothing for sure.
It likely means nothing, or it could mean something.
🤷♂️
Edit also, refer to my other comments. I wasn’t playing it up bigger than it is at all 🤦♂️
Sony are obviously bullish on what Epic have planned tech and content-wise.
They’re worth about $18 billion so this is a minor investment in terms of control. No doubt a good one nonetheless, especially if MS are eyeing up Warner Bros.
@Dange Yeah, this is actually a pretty tiny stake in context. Think people might be reading into it a little more than they should.
@Orpheus79V Probably because the article omits Sony's percentage purposefully.
Please no more nightmares like fortnite... How about throw this money out of window, or flush in toilet?
It's incredible how far the unreal engine has came. Takes me back to building levels for Unreal Tournament.
Ohh how I wish they didn't scrap the remake to concentrate on Fortnite.
@tameshiyaku Somebody gets it! Movies, advertising, music videos and Playstation. Unreal Engine is a real good fit across Sony's portfolio
I just hope Microsoft don't buy WB Games :-/ I couldn't bear to give Microsoft money to play the next Batman and LEGO games(that is if Microsoft don't keep them Exclusive)
Why won't they make full fledged game based on this game. Looks more fun and similar to Tomb Raider with this fortnite character. I'll buy it 🙄🤣
Nothing to be amazed over, just helps Sony brand itself better with epic's help
@Carl-G if Microsoft buys them, they'll be available on PC.
@Deadlyblack oh yes. Original UT with instagib mod, good times
So does this mean PS4/5 games will be on the Epic game store?
Tap here to load 61 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...