Sony adds $200M to its investment in Epic Games

Epic Games has another $1 billion from investors, $200 million of that from Sony, which pushes the company’s value to $28.7 billion, Epic said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

Tim Sweeney, the founder and chief executive of Epic Games, said the new investment “will help accelerate our work around building connected social experiences in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys, while empowering game developers and creators with Unreal Engine, Epic Online Services, and the Epic Games Store.”

Sony Group Corporation’s $200 million stake follows a $250 million buy-in last summer, giving the company a larger, but still minority share of ownership in Epic Games. Sweeney remains the controlling shareholder of the company, which is not publicly traded and continues to have only one class of common stock available. Tuesday’s statement listed a dozen other investment partners and investment funds making up the remaining $800 million.

Sweeney’s comments referenced the investors’ support of Epic Games’ expanding concept of “the Metaverse,” a kind of virtual environment where people gather for shared experiences in real time. We’ve seen this take shape in Fortnite, both with the plethora of cross-overs from the Marvel Universe, The Mandalorian, and other huge pop culture properties since December, as well as in-game social gatherings like concerts and a trailer reveal for the latest Star Wars movie.

In last summer’s announcement introducing Sony as a partner, Sweeney said both companies “share a vision of real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music. Together we strive to build an even more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators alike.”