Disney is investing $1.5b in Epic Games and building a new universe connected to Fortnite

The Walt Disney Company is making a $1.5 billion investment to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games.

It said on Wednesday that the two companies are also partnering to create an “all-new games and entertainment universe” connected to Fortnite.

“In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more,” Disney said.

Powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine and launching “soon(ish)”, according to the trailer below, it will let users create their own stories and experiences and share content with each other.

“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”

“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio,” said Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. “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.”

Disney and Epic have a longstanding working relationship. The latter has contributed Unreal Engine technology to various Disney theme park rides and Star Wars movies, for example, while Fortnite has played home to Disney season collaborations and live events, including the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which attracted more than 15.3 million concurrent players.