Sony, Lego Group Each Invest $1 Billion in Epic Games

pcmag.com:

Epic Games has secured $2 billion in new funding to help it build the metaverse and continue to grow.

Epic is best known to consumers for Fortnite and being a thorn in Apple's side, while developers know the company for Unreal Engine. Hot on the heels of announcing the launch of Unreal Engine 5, Epic confirmed that Sony, along with Lego's parent company Kirkbi, have each invested $1 billion.

This isn't the first time Sony has taken a stake in Epic Games. Back in 2020, a $250 million strategic investment was made giving Sony a 1.4 percent minority stake. This latest investment is four-times larger, and according to Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation, is to "deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,"

Yoshida also references Unreal Engine and "the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives."

Søren Thorup Sørensen, CEO, Kirkbi, explained the investment was to, "accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play." It follows the news last week that Epic and Lego are partnering to develop a metaverse that's safe for children. Owning a stake in the game engine your metaverse relies on makes a lot of sense for Lego, in the same way it does for Sony.

The investment neatly coincides with the much-delayed release of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. Meanwhile, Epic is now valued at $31.5 billion, but even with this substantial injection of cash, the company is keen to point out CEO Tim Sweeney retains control.

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