Epic Games joins Spire Animation’s $20M round for animated metaverse films
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Spire Animation Studios has raised $20 million from Epic Games and others as it aims to produce animated films for the metaverse.
Los Angeles-based Spire will use Epic’s Unreal Engine as part of its feature film animation pipeline as it builds new cinematic worlds.
Thecompanies said the collaboration signals a significant shift in the future of feature animation. Epic is investing in Spire alongside existing investor Connect Ventures, an investment partnership formed by Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Funding is ear-marked for team expansion, studio technology and infrastructure build out, as well as creative development. Epic will also join Spire’s Board of Directors.
This investment will accelerate the animation process and improve the quality of collaboration across departments.
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“We thought, not only would the efficiencies be super valuable to a company like ours, but just the more intimate filmmaking experience would allow us to bring in talent from other media,” said Spire’s cofounder and chief creative officer Brad Lewis, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We could break away from that assembly line like approach to producing feature animation.”
Lewis, producer of the Academy Award-winning Pixar film Ratatouille, started the company with serial entrepreneur P.J. Gunsagar.
The feature animation studio will tell original, culturally relevant stories that resonate with audiences worldwide, partnering with both best-in-class talent and emerging creatives. The duo are bringing a new
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