Epic Games has closed a $1 billion funding in its latest round. Sony ha increased its investment in the game company to $450 million.
Epic Games said Tuesday it has completed a $1 billion funding round. The latest funding round values the Fortnite-maker at $28.7 billion. Sony’s total investment in Epic Games now stands at $450 million.
Who invested in Epic Games?
The latest funding round was led by a $200M strategic investment from Sony Group Corporation. Sony had partnered with Epic Games last year and its latest investment serves to build on the existing relationship between the two companies.
There are also several other investment firms including Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, GIC, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Park West, KKR, AllianceBernstein, Altimeter, Franklin Templeton and Luxor Capital.
“We are grateful to our new and existing investors who support our vision for Epic and the Metaverse. Their 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,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder, Epic Games.
The last funding round raised $1.7 Bn in its last investment round last summer. Sony had invested $250 million at the time.
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What does this mean for gamers?
“Epic continues to deliver revolutionary experiences through their array of cutting edge technologies that support creators in gaming and across the digital entertainment industry. We are excited to strengthen our collaboration to bring new entertainment experiences to people around the world. I strongly believe that this aligns with our purpose to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation.
For now, it seems Sony is investing in Epic's vision of the future. With some big titles under its belt, the publisher has a decent player base. Despite some losses, the game publisher is pushing hard to popularize its store with free games and discounts. Gamers can expect more social features to come to titles such as Fortnite, Rocket League and Among Us. Epic Games also invests heavily into building the storyline in Fortnite. The 2019 Fortnite World Cup saw a prize pool of $30 million.
Epic Games is the proud owner of popular titles such as Fortnite, Rocket League and Among Us. The games’ publisher is also embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with Google and Apple over their high platform cuts. The publisher has committed $444 million to the Epic Games Store exclusivity deals in 2020 alone.
Credit Suisse and BoFA Securities acted as joint placement agents to Epic, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati provided legal counsel to Epic.
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