Sony invests in Epic Games just months before PS5 launch
Over the past few years, Epic Games has become a heavyweight company in the games industry. After developing the original Gears of War trilogy, the company went on to create the game that would change the industry, Fornite. Soon after, the company created the digital storefront, Epic Games Store, which rivals the king of digital games, Steam. So with all this success, it looks like Sony is more than a little interested in investing in the burgeoning business.
After the release of Fortnite and the Epic Games Store, the company is estimated to be around $8 billion. Although this is the case, Epic Games and Sony have announced that the Japanese electronics company has invested a large amount of money in Epic Games to become a minority shareholder. It is still unclear at this time what percentage of Sony shares currently owns, however, the amount invested is $250 million.
Although it may seem out of nowhere, the two companies have had a close relationship. Recently, the two companies teamed up to reveal a demonstration of the PlayStation 5 and Unreal Engine 5 capability. Additionally, Epic Games has sold shares of their company in the past. In 2012, the game developer made a similar move with an investor, Tencent, for a 40% stake in the company, for $330 million. Since Epic Games has become a much bigger company in the gaming industry, it is assumed that Sony's investment has earned them much less than a percentage.
So far, there are no concrete details on what this will mean for Epic Games and PlayStation collaborations going forward. In a recent press release, however, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said, “Sony and Epic have both built businesses at the intersection of creativity and technology, and we share a vision for experiences. real-time 3D social media leading to a convergence of games, movies and music.” Epic has previously stated that the Unreal Engine will support the PS5's main competitor, the Xbox Series X.
Source: VentureBeat
