Sony invests $250 million in Fortnite maker Epic Games

San Francisco, July 10 (IANS): Sony on Friday announced it has made a strategic investment of $250 million to acquire a minority interest in Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite.

The investment enables Sony and Epic to broaden their collaboration with Sony’s portfolio of entertainment assets and technology, and Epic’s social entertainment platform and digital ecosystem to create unique experiences for consumers and creators.

“Epic’s powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations. There’s no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience, Fortnite,” Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO Sony said in a statement.

The companies noted they have “an already close relationship,” and that the investment allows them to “broaden their collaboration.”

Tim Sweeney, CEO Epic Games, said that both Sony and Epic Games have created businesses at the intersection of creativity and technology and they share a vision of real-time 3D social experiences that will lead to a convergence of gaming, film, and music. He added that the parties plan to build a “more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators.”

Epic Games operates Fortnite, the world’s largest game with over 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections.

Epic Games also develops Unreal Engine, which powers the world’s leading games and is being adopted across industries such as film and television, architecture, automotive, and manufacturing for visualization and simulation.

Meanwhile, Sony is all set to launch its next-generation console PlayStation 5 later this year, with titles including Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” and Rockstar Games’ “Grand Theft Auto V.”