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ony Corporation has purchased a $360 million minority stake in Epic Games, the video game publisher responsible for Fortnite and Unreal Engine.
The deal sees Sony gain a 1.4% share in Epic, who is now valued at $25.46 billion, with a total $2.3 billion raised in funding to date.
The investment opens the door for the pair to ‘create unique experiences for consumers and creators’, the pair said in a press release.
This is reportedly indicating the pair will likely work on PlayStation 5 exclusive offerings from the game developer, when the upcoming console hits the shelves at the end of the year.
Sony Corporation co-chairman, president, and CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, said the investment is a further extension on an already successful working relationship between the two.
“Epic’s powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations,” Yoshida said.
“There’s no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience, Fortnite.
“Through our investment, we will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games, but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape,” he said.
Epic Games founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, said the investment doesn’t mean all Epic productions will be exclusive to PlayStation consoles, but the pair will be able to expand their vision across not only gaming, but film and music as well.
“Sony and Epic have both built businesses at the intersection of creativity and technology, and we share a vision of real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music,” Sweeney said.
“Together we strive to build an even more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators alike,” he said.
