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Now, Disney is making a much bigger bet that will make this
possible.
Disney CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday announced a $1.5 billion
investment aimed at letting consumers interact with stories and
characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, on Epic's
Fortnite, where 100 million players gather each month. It was an
acknowledgement of the amount of leisure time Generation Alpha,
Generation Z and millennials devote to gaming.
"In terms of their total media screen time on video games, it
was stunning to me - equal to what they spend on TV and movies,"
Iger said during a call with analysts and investors after
reporting quarterly results. "And the conclusion I reached was
we have to be there. And we have to be there as soon as we
possibly can in a very compelling way."
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney had long envisioned a Disney's characters
populating Fortnite's digital playground, according to two
former executives.
"Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the
potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in
Fortnite," Sweeney said in a statement, adding that Disney uses
Epic's real time, 3D graphics creation tool, Unreal Engine.
Other companies, such as Lego, have similarly forged
partnerships with Epic.
Game industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush said Disney has
failed multiple times at developing its own games in house. It
struggled to make money even on popular titles such as "Disney
Infinity," he said, referring to a game that incorporated an
expansive collection of Disney characters, which would come to
life in the game's virtual toy box.
Since it shifted to a licensing business model in 2016, nine
Disney game franchises, including Spider-Man and Kingdom Hearts,
have generated more than $1 billion in revenue, Disney said.
Pachter called Disney's investment in Epic Games "a really smart
strategic" move that is consistent with the company's approach
of extending brand awareness and protecting the integrity of the
brand.
"Disney, I think, is acknowledging ... we are really good at
brands and exploitation of those brands," said Pachter. "And
Epic is really good at hooking consumers and getting them
engaged and having fun."
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
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