Disney execs want to buy out Fortnite and Epic Games claims rumour

Any acquisition of Epic Games would not only net Disney Fortnite, but also the Unreal Engine.

In 2023, Epic Games let go 870 employees, citing that it was spending more money than it was making, meaning Fortnite, despite its global popularity, wasn’t turning a profit.

Then, for the exact same reasons, Epic Games announced it was laying off another 1,000 employees just last week, with CEO Tim Sweeney admitting Fortnite engagement was down.

It’s too soon to tell what sort of long-term impact these layoffs will have on Fortnite or how/if the game will change in a bid to boost player numbers, but it has been alleged that Disney could acquire Fortnite and Epic Games outright in the aftermath.

As a reminder, Disney has already invested $1.5 billion into Epic Games to build an ‘expansive and open games and entertainment universe connected to Fortnite.’

While those plans have yet to come to fruition, Epic and Disney have maintained a strong and consistent partnership, with many Disney themed skins and cosmetics being added to Fortnite over the years, including ones based on Star Wars, The Incredibles, and, most recently, Hercules.

In an episode of his The Town podcast, entertainment journalist Matt Belloni discussed the recent Epic layoffs with tech journalist and former deputy editor of The Verge Alex Heath, questioning what they could mean for Disney considering how much it’s invested in the company.

According to Heath, there is some interest within Disney about acquiring Epic and Fortnite entirely, saying, ‘I know for a fact there are senior executives at Disney who want to buy Epic and they’re just waiting for that moment.’

While you might question why Disney would buy a business that’s confessed to being unprofitable, the new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is reportedly keen on growing Disney’s involvement within the gaming space.

Not only that, but it is also said he was one of the key figures in Disney’s investment in Epic and his experience in managing the company’s theme park division means it’s believed he’s very interested in getting the aforementioned Disney/Fortnite universe off the ground.

At its core, it would essentially be a virtual theme park, with Disney describing it as a place where you can ‘play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories,’ which sounds akin to the kind of experiences Roblox offers, which is perhaps Fortnite’s biggest competition considering its popularity, especially with children.

Plus, acquiring Epic would mean taking control of its Unreal Engine, which has usage in not just video games but movies and TV shows too.

While not implausible, such an acquisition is not guaranteed. For starters, Heath adds that some Disney executives think it would be ‘a bad idea,’ but also Epic is a private company, with Tim Sweeney the controlling shareholder.

This means he’d have the final say on any such acquisition deal and Heath suspects Sweeney won’t be so willing to sell Epic given his history of butting heads with Apple and Google over Fortnite’s microtransactions, even triggering lengthy lawsuits with them.

‘It’s almost an illogical crusade when you’re running a company like Epic to do something like that,’ explains Heath. ‘But that kind of thinking is something that I think is going to keep Disney a little bit at arm’s length.’

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