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Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games
- mminer237 3y agoThis is like a 3–4% stake then?
- haunter 3y agoEpic does what Facebook couldn't. The Metaverse is real I bet Zuck never ever played an actual video game in his whole life https://compote.slate.com/images/760b74a3-7156-4dbe-90bd-b021327b6c49.jpeg https://compote.slate.com/images/760b74a3-7156-4dbe-90bd-b02...
- brucethemoose2 3y agoAlso, game dev is hard. Engine dev is really hard. There is a growing graveyard of games/devs suffering from bespoke engine woes instead of just using Unreal...
- GuestHNUser 3y ago> There is a growing graveyard of games/devs suffering from bespoke engine woes instead of just using Unreal... Is there? I can't think of any examples that come to mind. Most indie devs I know that roll their own engine have no regrets. I am curious who comes to mind that says otherwise publicly?
- spartanatreyu 3y agoIn recent memory, the biggest two that come to mind: - Halo Infinite's slipstream engine turned into spaghetti code due to 343's terrible employee cycling, most of the directors left around the same week, and now they're rehiring a brand new team made up of devs with Unreal Engine experience because the old engine would take too long to fix. - The terrible console performance and engine woes of CD Project Red's Cyberpunk 2077 that almost led to the company being sued into hell led to them abandoning their own engine and switching to Unreal Engine for their next game.
- brucethemoose2 3y agoAlso, Mass Effect Andromeda. Bethesda Game Studios is getting there. I don't know about indie games as much, but I know Distant Worlds 2 got bit by its exotic engine.
- nmfisher 3y agoRolling your own engine seems to become troublesome when you're moving into AA territory (Cyberpunk/RED, FFXIV/Luminous, etc). I guess at the low end (indies), you can design something lean that fits one specific use-case, and at the high-end (AAA) you really can afford to build/maintain something competitive. The middle-ground might be dangerous. That being said, there are literally dozens of abandoned game engines out there from solo "game devs" who never actually got around to making the game.
- Animats 3y agoEpic never did the metaverse. Sweeney talked about doing it, but they never shipped. Unreal Engine heavily preprocesses content in Unreal Editor, then trusts that content. For a metaverse, you need to do more of that server-side. Back when Sweeney was talking that up, I was expecting metaverse-in-a-box in Unreal Engine 7. That seems less and less likely. The metaverse is real, and it's called Second Life. Which is a niche. It is a profitable niche. A "cash machine", one of the owners has said. So it stays around. Everybody else in the metaverse space lost money. Now that zero interest rates are over, and there's no more free money, this is even more true. Heavy Disney investment in a general-purpose metaverse seems unlikely. It doesn't fit their IP-based business model.
- haunter 3y ago>Epic never did the metaverse Already exists and it's called Fortnite
- pests 3y agoA bland corporate version maybe.
- Animats 3y agoFortnite's "creative mode" is a game level loader, not a metaverse. One creator makes a mini-game and uploads it, then others can visit. It's not a shared-world metaverse. Other game level loaders include Sinespace, Breakroom,and Sansar. Decentraland is in between - each user uploads their own parcel, but it's part of a shared world, where you can see multiple parcels at once. In a real metaverse, you have neighbors. A very large number of people can each contribute to building a big world. Such systems are very rare. That's not in line with Disney's business model. "The media giant will work with the Fortnite studio to create new games and an entertainment universe where consumers can “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more,” Disney said in a press release." Think of this as an expansion pack for the Marvel Overextended Universe.
- Animats 3y agoWow! What will Disney do to Unreal Engine's pricing plan? Does Sweeney remain in charge?
- nickthegreek 3y agoDisney’s stake will not be big enough to give them that kind of voice.
- Solvency 3y agoThis will be a boon for Fortnite's licensed character business, Disney's merchandising business, Disney+'s content, and absolute downgrade/extortion for all Unreal users. Guaranteed.
- justin66 3y agoSweeney is certainly in charge. By all accounts he’s still got a controlling interest in the company. Disney got themselves a board seat, one assumes, and some IP sharing.
- berserk1010 3y ago[dead]
- vineyardmike 3y agoEpic games has the potential to be the virtual Disney World - just available to everyone on the planet instead of those with enough money to visit a park IRL. Disney has a great flywheel where their IP drives content, toys, and experiences. This is just the latest experience, and it’s something they can’t build themselves. I bet you can expect more content on fortnite to be with Disney IP; skins, events, maps, everything. It’ll be a great way to promote new movies/TV shows with cross-platform events. Fortnite has already had great luck with this sort of thing, so it makes sense for Disney to want access to it. Maybe you’ll even see IRL Fortnite experiences in theme parks or a Fortnite IP based movie or TV show.
- tapoxi 3y agoDisney has had access to it, there were a lot of Fortnite Avengers promotions. It obviously worked well enough for them to want to invest.
- pests 3y agoI've expected a Fortnite movie for awhile now. The current storyline would be perfect for someone like J.J with his histroy of mistique. Nit: It was all of Marvel not just Avengers and I think they did Star Wars too already.
- mattbrewsbytes 3y agoI've played fortnite on an off since there were seasons. I have no idea what the storyline is, there are some cut scenes when there is a new season but it make no sense. Claiming there is a storyline is a stretch, I think it is just cover for changing up the map/gear to keep it fresh.
- acomjean 3y agoI'll agree. My partner plays and I play a little. There seems to be a story but it matters little and doesn't seem to make sense (i guess the plot points that change the map matter)
- chr-s 3y agoDisney use Unreal Engine for their dynamic greenscreen LED wall which they film The Mandalorian and others against. That's got to be at least as important as Fortnite characters.
- tracerbulletx 3y agoMaybe but they've been wanting to get in to gaming for a while now, so this is probably mostly about that.
- bitvoid 3y ago> get back in to gaming FTFY. They had their own game publishing arm since 1988, Disney Interactive Studios, and owned first-party studios like Avalanche Software, which was sold off to Warner Bros. They shut it down in 2016.
- er4hn 3y agoDon't forget Lucasfilm Games, nee LucasArts. They published a lot of games, both star wars properties and otherwise. They're now owned by Disney as well.
- Sakos 3y agoEh, Lucasflim Games was pretty much shutdown in 2013 and only stuck around as a shell just to license out to, uh, checks notes EA. They're nothing like what they used to be when they enabled games like Rogue Squadron, KotOR or Jedi Academy.
- sailfast 3y agoJedi Academy / KOTOR? Talk to me when you understand the wonder of Dark Forces and Outlaws. :)
- Apfel 3y agoInteresting to bring this up - always wondered which way the creative influence went between Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean (if i recall correctly, the game is based off the ride, but the film was allegedly inspired by the game)
- j2bax 3y agoI wonder if Apple has any regrets about its battle with Epic... Seems like they could have been a great launch partner for the Vision Pro...
- al_borland 3y agoThey aren’t the only game studio. If Apple rolled over on Epic, it would lead to their entire revenue model around the App Store falling apart.
- staplers 3y agoApple, while being a hardware and (somewhat) software leader, has been in "let them eat cake" mode for quite some time. Corporate leadership needs to start understanding that once they've saturated the market they need to loosen up or they're at risk of becoming a populist target.
- jprd 3y agoI think I'm going to need one of those Carrie Matheson / Pepe Silva full wall mind-maps to track all of this.
- n4r9 3y agoThe reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBfZcNU4O0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBfZcNU4O0
- bigiain 3y agoSo is there a term like "acquihire" - except it means more like "we sold a stake in out company so we would get access to their legal department" instead of "we sold a stake in out company so we would get cushy jobs"?
- BadHumans 3y agoWho needs whose legal department and why?
- iamtheworstdev 3y agoEpic vs Apple just became Disney vs Apple
- echelon 3y agoNo it didn't. Apple is trying to maintain its draconian grip over the app store because of the sweet revenue it brings. With worldwide regulatory pressure, that dam will eventually burst. But they'll keep it going as long as they can. Apple is happy to engage in backroom deals. There's a future where Apple could acquire either or both of these companies.
- willy_k 3y ago> Apple is happy to engage in backroom deals. There's a future where Apple could acquire either or both of these companies. Maybe they’d want to, but would regulators really let those mergers happen unless apple makes some big changes?
- empath-nirvana 3y agoNo, that case is going to disappear now.
- ArtificialAI 3y agoDisney boasts a diverse array of partnerships across various industries, and I believe that this specific collaboration won't adversely impact Disney's already formidable alliance with Apple. On the contrary, there's reason for enthusiasm regarding the possibility of Disney venturing into new territories where they haven't historically been prominent players. The prospect of Disney making substantial investments in these uncharted areas could lead to exciting developments and innovations, further strengthening their overall position in the market.
- gigatexal 3y agoHilarious. A long time ally of Apple will invest in a company hell bent (and somewhat righteously so) knee capping Apple.
- paxys 3y agoThere are no friends in business. It is very common for large companies to be in close partnerships while also competing with or even suing each other. Apple and Disney are themselves competitors in the streaming market.
- pests 3y agoSee also: Samsung and Apple competes in phones, yet Apple sources phone displays from Samsung
- insane_dreamer 3y agoand used to source chips from Samsung too
- ryukoposting 3y agoDoes Apple make their own DRAM? If not, there's a good chance they still are sourcing chips from Samsung.
- brokencode 3y agoAlly of Apple in what way? Do they give each other favorable deals or work closely together on any important projects? I haven’t heard of anything major along those lines. I think an appearance of friendliness mainly came from Steve Jobs, and he’s been gone for a long time now.
- favorited 3y agoBob Iger was literally on stage at the Apple Vision Pro announcement, demoing how they're bringing Disney+ to AVP.
- BooneJS 3y agoDisney is diversifying. This comes on the heels of their subsidiary ESPN creating a new sports streaming service with Fox and Warner/Discovery (https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/espn-fox-warner-bros-discovery-streaming-sports-service/ https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/espn-fox-warner-bros-discov...)
- callalex 3y agoI wonder how long it will take them to morph into a financial services company.
- xyclos 3y agoThere's already Partner's FCU https://www.partnersfcu.org/ https://www.partnersfcu.org/
- CompYOUT 3y agoDisney is owned by the CCP this not diversifying. Its a great fit for EPIC and Disney to work together because of this. Let the protests begin!
- loceng 3y agoHow do you mean they're owned by the CCP?
- paxys 3y agoWill be interesting to see what % stake Disney got. Tencent currently owns 40% of Epic and Sony has another 5%. Given their last valuation of $32B it doesn't seem like Disney will end up with more than 3-4%. Still a good chunk, but not quite enough to call the shots.
- echelon 3y agoIt's enough to start pivoting into this area. They can gain exposure and increase their stake over time.
- ProfessorLayton 3y agoPretty sure Epic took a big haircut in valuation too, just like its peers. Money is a lot more expensive now, so perhaps Disney got a nice deal.
- araes 3y agoProbably, they had to let 830 (16%) go to reach financial stability and got rid of Bandcamp and SuperAwesome for another 250. [1] Apparently they were "spending way more money than we earn" to try and turn Fortnite into a metaverse concept. However, lately they say they've been getting by on low margin creator content revenue sharing that seems to not be enough. Based on the letter, the layoffs and divestitures brought them to financial stability again. [1] Sept 28, 2023 https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/layoffs-at-epic https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/layoffs-at-epic
- jtriangle 3y agoOh make no mistake, they're still burning a ton of money trying to get their cross play metaverse thing off the ground. Those dev teams didn't lose a single person in those layoffs, in fact, whole departments were gutted and some of the engineering talent was reassigned to the metaverse team. It's so much worse than you can imagine.
- quickthrower2 3y agoDisney ironically being the smartest tech investor by being old school and buying low.
- bangonkeyboard 3y agoWhat's surprising to me is that this deal is apparently about content and IP, not the Unreal Engine technology per se.
- wyldfire 3y agoSounds like horizontal integration.
- rowanG077 3y agoNo please no, god no. Disney rots everything it touches and epic games is more than rotten enough as it is.
- ArtificialAI 3y agoOversimplified negativity towards Disney and Epic Games doesn't capture their diverse contributions. A more nuanced view and consideration of both positives and negatives is advisable.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- KerrAvon 3y agoOversimplified positivity doesn't capture their perverse intentions. A more nuanced view of both negatives and positives is advisable.
- ArtificialAI 3y agoNuanced negativity fails to grasp their genuine intentions. A simplified perspective considering both negatives and positives is recommended.
- georgeecollins 3y agoI agree that you can't make this that simple, you never know what will happen. But I have been in the game business as a developer/ publisher / whatever for decades and worked for Disney. Disney more then any other company I know of (maybe except EA) has squandered its opportunities and acquisitions in the game space consistently. Disney Interactive has died and been recreated I think three times in my career. If I started to make a list of all the game companies or game adjacent (Maker Studio) I probably would miss a bunch. And none of them worked. Disney has a really strong culture that has not in the past fit well with the video game business.
- colkassad 3y agoI worked on a UT99 mod back in the day and was invited to the Raleigh office back in 2003 or so after our artist was hired by them. He still works there. Hard to believe how far the company has come.
- gunapologist99 3y agoStill one of the greatest games of all time.
- chupasaurus 3y agoThat couldn't be bought other than physical copies if there are any left.
- lapetitejort 3y agoConsidering Square Enix's relationship with Epic, Disney's relationship with Square Enix, and now Disney's relationship with Epic, I expect Kingdom Hearts IV to be a tightly coupled collaboration.
- SllX 3y agoThat actually sounds like a nightmare. Keep your Fortnite away from my Kingdom Hearts.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- askafriend 3y agoWhat do we think the valuation is? Do we think it's down, flat or up? I'd hazard a guess at flat. Unity (a peer) got crushed by the market but they also don't have Fortnite which is a money printer and has only gotten bigger.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Ekaros 3y agoUnreal have much more reasonable revenue model. And it is not going anywhere. Unity on other hand shot their own foot off with model they presented.
- gamepsys 3y agoDisney gets more IP in front of more 13-25 year olds. This is a very impressionable age group, and can create life long fans. This is a good value proposition for Disney. Epic probably gets an increase in valuation -- lifeblood for tech companies. Collaboration skins are massive for revenue. However, I'm concerned this relationship will force uncool collaborations with Fortnite and reduce it's appeal. Disney has had some flops recently. Long term the trick for Fortnite is to become the most sticky online videogame in history, with most games bleeding audience over time. Epic is more than just Fortnite, but I imagine this deal is entirely about Fortnite.
- hmcdona1 3y agoNo, Disney uses Unreal for their rendered real-time sets. This is about more than just Fortnite.
- reactordev 3y agoThis. Virtual Set Production is almost entirely Unreal engine. Fortnite is just a marketing platform. The real meat is the digital production pipeline that made Mando cool. That enabled Star Trek’s recent series’, and provides a “holodeck” for their just unveiled holo-floor.
- jrockway 3y agoI don't think Fortnite is just a marketing platform. They wouldn't have bothered suing Apple and Google over app stores if it were merely a loss leader to remind film execs that Unreal Engine is a thing.
- callalex 3y agoWhile I agree with you that Fortnite shouldn’t be considered a loss leader, the strategy behind challenging Apple in court is more nuanced. Epic also operates a rather large software/games store and I am sure they would love to see it grow.
- 3y ago
- Thoreandan 3y agoSo... Jill of the Jungle and Eva Earlong are now officially Disney Princesses.
- acheron 3y agoTown of ZZT animated movie when?
- O1111OOO 3y agoI've come across a few articles in the last year and they all seem to agree that Sports and Gaming is where the money is because the fan base is so... passionate. It makes sense that on the heels of Disney's collaboration with FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery (via ESPN), they would also get into the other market with fans as committed as sports fans. Considering that the future of TV is streaming and being successful in this market has proven to be no slam dunk (no matter how big you are), Sports/Gaming is the hedge (for those who can swings these deals).
- A4ET8a8uTh0 3y agoWell now.. it is not like I need another reason to avoid Epic, but.. I am obviously not the target demographic here. I personally think, from Disney's perspective, this is not a wrong move to make.
- Aeolun 3y agoI find the prospect of Disney characters shooting at each other with guns mildly disturbing.
- spartanatreyu 3y agoDeadpool is a Disney character.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 3y agoThat thought genuinely did not occur to me. That feature alone will pay 1.5b back within moments of becoming available.
- jncfhnb 3y agoBeen there for a long time already
- MattRix 3y agobetter avoid the marvel movies and star wars then
- nox101 3y agoDisney likes Apple, Epic hates Apple. Will this put a leash on Epic's push to break Apple's monopoly?
- Eji1700 3y agoThat's probably the first thing i've heard about Epic Games that makes me think it'll still be around 5-10 years from now. Disney can bring a LOT of content, so long as they can actually make it half decent content and not shit the bed like they did with EA.
- jncfhnb 3y agoFor me it was their billions of dollars of revenue
- Eji1700 3y agoYeah wasn’t clear that I meant the store. Epic isn’t going anywhere
- jncfhnb 3y agoThe store is their means to distribute without a painful platform tax Even if it’s just Fortnite its massively profitable to run it
- Eji1700 3y agoProbably true but they're throwing money around for exclusives because i'm sure they want a major cut of Steam's market, and so far that just hadn't happened. I would not be shocked if future star wars, marvel, disney games are epic exclusive, and that could be the thing to get people to care beyond the weekly free game and fortnight.
- hnthrowaway0328 3y agoWhat about Unity then?
- SLHamlet 3y agoIt's the mass market on-ramp the Metaverse needs. https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2024/02/disney-epic-interoperable-metaverse.html https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2024/02/disney-epic-interoperable-... Roblox should start sweating. Then again, so should anyone who's created Disney-themed fan content on Rec Room, VRChat, etc.
- maerF0x0 3y agoIDK if I agree. Disney wants to sell you a mickey tshirt on every platform so you have to buy N of them.
- desireco42 3y agoWill they ruin whatever was good about Fortnite?
- bigstrat2003 3y agoSince when is there something good about Fortnite for them to ruin?
- NoPicklez 3y agoThat's pretty rough, Fortnite has done some very cool things in gaming that have paid dividens
- schappim 3y agoDisney investing $1.5 billion in Epic signals that Disney thinks it can repair the Epic-Apple relationship.
- honkycat 3y agoseems like a good call. I realize this is from a ground level but: The games getting made by the Unreal Engine today are of such high quality and graphic fidelity. They've really hit critical mass for the AA and AAA games, and paying the piper is looking like a smarter and smarter investment. Do film companies write their own editing software, or 3d pipelines, or design and build their own cameras? Some of them, sure. But most of them are purchasing and customizing off-the-shelf solutions. It just makes sense.
- Sovann102 3y ago[flagged]
- matt3210 3y agoWhat's Fortnite? -- 35 year old man
- justin66 3y agoWhat’s Google?
- Aerroon 3y agoIt's a Battle Royale game with building. Third person shooter. 100 players are dropped off on an island, last one alive wins. A circle is around the island that slowly becomes smaller. If you're out of the circle you take damage. This essentially speeds up the later parts of the game.
- barbazoo 3y agoMega-mega corp!!!
- xgkickt 3y agoI imagine this would allow Disney some control over user-generated content heavily influenced by or outright infringing on their properties?
- thedougd 3y agoNow Epic can unpause their HQ build. It hasn’t been going anywhere since they were hit with 9 figure fines.
- kmeisthax 3y agoApple has a weirdly pro-Disney bias: watchOS has built-in Disney faces, on a watch where there's no custom watchface support whatsoever. And this is apparently mutual: Disney shipped a D+ visionOS app when several other streaming services (Netflix, YouTube, Spotify) were telling Apple to piss off. Disney investing in the company that has been the biggest thorn in Apple's side is... interesting. Obviously, the immediate motivation is "we wanna jump on the Fortnite zoomer bandwagon", but I can't help but wonder if Tim Sweeney's days are numbered here.
- hboon 3y ago> Apple has a weirdly pro-Disney bias Naturally since their CEOs were on the board of the other company and also Pixar.
- jaimie 3y agoThere is a massive amount of history between the two companies, with Jobs being the largest individual shareholder of Disney due to the Pixar acquisition and Iger sitting on the board of Apple until Disney+ was launched. There's a Wikipedia page dedicated to the subject with extensive references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_acquisition_of_Disney_by_Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_acquisition_of_Disne...
- justin66 3y ago> I can't help but wonder if Tim Sweeney's days are numbered here. He owns a controlling interest in the company.
- runevault 3y agoDid he remain > 50% on this purchase? I dunno where the shares came from that Disney bought.
- justin66 3y agoI assume he’s recently been awarded new shares and that new shares were created for Disney, such that everyone else was diluted. I’m not sure some of the figures being reported can be verified as accurate yet.
- joshspankit 3y agoPlease no. Epic is one of the companies that needs to remain autonomous for the sake of technology and those who enjoy it.
- tristan957 3y agoAccording to other people in the thread, 40% of the company is owned by Tencent already.
- ajhurliman 3y agoOh wow, the collaboration that exactly zero people wanted to see
- judge2020 3y agoI doubt Disney would invest this much if the purchase data (and cash flow) didn’t support this decision.
- LarsDu88 3y agoThis is a pretty astute move. Unreal tech powers EVERYTHING at Disney now ever since the development of virtual production leveraging real-time rendering. On top of the that the Fortnite demographic is growing up and videogame based IP moves are making bank (Sonic, Mario, Last of Us). If the cogs are turning in Bob Iger's head, it's that videogame IPs are the next Marvel/Star Wars.
- sssilver 3y agoEvery time something like this happens, it makes me really sad. It means more of what we experience will have to adhere to more of the same rules, patterns, and decisions. Uniformity is prevailing.
- UberFly 3y agoThere's lots of independent, smaller entities out there, but yea, the grey goo of mainstream IP is always expanding.
- tzfld 3y agoAnd above that, we talk about Disney which represents almost every bad thing when talking about large corporations.
- palisade 3y agoThis would be true if it were a full takeover. But, actually it is just a small injection of cash. Which will greatly help the flagging Epic, which recently had to endure a relatively large layoff to stay the course. Disney is just making a cool metaverse with Epic that includes both their IPs; Star Wars / Avatar / Indiana Jones / etc and Fortnite, which is why they're providing this money. They were working on the technology together well before this investment. Epic isn't fully owned by Disney with this investment. Tencent has a much larger share.
- slimebot80 3y agoWell Musk will be furious
- scotty79 3y agoWill someone at some point break Disney apart or will this tumor only grow forever?
- iancmceachern 3y agoI bet they'll combine this, their new VR treadmill thing, and their parks into a VR Epic Games experience
- bonestamp2 3y agoWow. I noticed a lot of Star Wars content in Rocket League showed up today... and I thought Epic was paying Disney. I guess it's the other way around.
- sharken 3y agoAdmittedly old news, but Disney is now joining Lego and Sony with regards to investments in Epic Games. https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/sony-and-kirkbi-invest-in-epic-games-to-build-the-future-of-digital-entertainment https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/sony-and-kirkbi-in...
- shoulderfake 3y ago[dead]
- Ekaros 3y agoI didn't know that Disney was in place where they had resources to invest anywhere...
- okokwhatever 3y agoHow do they get funded? To me this is a great question (and also "why?")
- okokwhatever 3y agoHow does Disney funds all the failures? I cant understand it... it's like if the money never stops with some companies even losing money (or earning every year less and less). Weird.
- jwie 3y agoThis has the same pattern as the Vivendi deal with Blizzard back in 2007. In both instances, the game end of the deal had peaked already, and there was nowhere to go but down. Nothing a few billion dollars can’t fix, maybe some “new content,” says the business guys. Meanwhile their product becomes worse by the month. The magic is fading. All the people who made it great move on, not wanting to deal with the business parasites who showed up to squeeze a buck. Repeat.
- DecoPerson 3y agoEpic Games is not just games anymore. Take a look at how The Mandalorian (a Disney production) was filmed. Epic Games’ software played a large part. It goes beyond just film & television. They offer solutions for the automotive industry, aviation simulation industry, mining sims, trucking sims, medical sims, architecture, live broadcast, … Hmm, I think I might invest if I can!
- bombcar 3y agoAt this point they should just buy Epic Healthcare and consolidate.
- galangalalgol 3y agoI never expected a dystopian megacorp to start from a cartoon or videogame company. As a kid I figured it would kick off with walmart buying lockmart and just calling itself Mart.
- lagniappe 3y agoCome come now, you know what would make you feel better? Let's open some loot crates.
- rlegit 3y agoPretty close https://www.epic.com/epic/archive/april-fools/epic-to-merge-with-epic-games/ https://www.epic.com/epic/archive/april-fools/epic-to-merge-...
- dev1ycan 3y agoPeople talk a lot about tencent buying a stake in epic but they basically are hands free and let epic go down the rabit hole of fighting apple in court and getting into financial troubles because of it. Same thing with tencent letting Grinding gear games basically make poe 2 which is huge financial risk when they already had a succesful game that could have kept going, just for the sake of making it better for their players over time. Disney however? yeah, now people will actually see what unrestricted capitalism does to a company, I really hope this is mostly just aimed at the fact that Disney probably uses unreal engine and doesn't want it going down, but the cynic in me thinks that disney as a corporation will try to squeeze as much as they can out of their money.
- sebastianconcpt 3y agoIt's going to go in one direction. Down. Also monocrhomaticaly violet and with mandatory genderconfusionist characters.
- riow 3y agoElon is not going to like this LOL
- DaleNeumann 3y agoThis puts Disney in the same board table with Tencent and Sony.
- paulmd 3y agoah yes surely epic's entirely legitimate, bona-fide crusade against the indignity and injustice of walled-gardens will be enhanced by (checks notes) selling to the mouse?
- masfoobar 3y agoNot a follower of Disney. I dont care for their products or efforts on Star Wars etc. The first thing I could think of as to why is because they use Unreal Engine for their CGI background and effects in TV shows and (perhaps as well) movies. I do remember seeing BTS of one of their TV shows (likely Star Wars) with giant TV's all round the set which creates backdrops, all in Unreal. I will admit it is impressive but I noticed camera shots are looking limited. Start of something grander, I guess.