Disney Explains Why It Invested $1.5 Billion Into Fortnite And What It Hopes To Achieve

As part of Disney's latest earnings briefing, the company discussed some of its plans for gaming. The company's executive summary touches on Disney's deal with Epic Games to create content for Fortnite, with Disney saying the company hopes to deliver "transformational" new games."We are reaching consumers in innovative new ways--such as working with Epic Games to bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe," the company said.Disney went on to claim that its business for licensed video games is the "largest in the world." Its deal with Epic Games is another example of this, it said. As for why Disney is investing so much into video games, the company said it's trying to capitalize on a "transformative industry-wide shift toward converged gaming ecosystems."In February, Disney invested a further $1.5 billion into Epic Games to create a "new persistent universe" for Disney fans to "play, watch, shop, and engage with" characters and content from its Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar brands, among others. Disney and Epic also touted the ability for fans to "create their own stories and experiences" and share content with each other as part of this.Disney and Epic have yet to officially unveil any specific projects in Fortnite tied to Disney, but many are hoping to see some kind of "virtual Disney World." Fortnite, of course, is no longer just one game--instead, it's more akin to a platform these days. In addition to the main battle royale game, Fortnite hosts games like Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and Lego Fortnite, along with countless other user-created games and experiences on the platform. Whatever Epic and Disney might be cooking up could be just the latest game to exist on the Fortnite platform.Disney will reveal what's next for the company across the board at D23 this coming weekend in Anaheim, and while we don't know for sure if Disney will discuss its Fortnite plans, it's certainly possible.In terms of Disney's commentary around being the "largest" player in gaming for licensed games, that's likely a reference to the numerous deals Disney has made with outside studios to create content. Whereas Disney used to develop games in-house via its own Disney Interactive Studios, the company subsequently shut this down and instead works with outside teams as part of licensing arrangements.And Disney has been busy in this regard. There are numerous licensed Disney games in the works from outside teams currently, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from Microsoft, Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft, Star Wars Hunters from Zynga, Epic Mickey Rebrushed from Purple Lamp, and Disney Pixel RPG from GungHo Online, just to name a few.