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Fortnite maker Epic gets US$2 billion from PlayStation maker Sony, Lego owner as it continues to fight Apple

  • Sony and Lego owner Kirkbi each invested US$1 billion into Epic, bringing its valuation to US$31.5 billion
  • The game developer is waging a costly legal battle against Apple and Google over the fees charged by their app stores

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Epic Games’ Fortnite is a popular battle royale game across multiple platforms, including mobile and dedicated gaming consoles like Sony’s PlayStation. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS
Bloomberg
Sony Group Corp and the owner of the Lego Group invested US$2 billion in Epic Games Inc, the maker of Fortnite.
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Epic is valued at US$31.5 billion after the investment, the Cary, North Carolina-based company said Monday in a statement. Epic’s valuation about a year ago was US$28.7 billion.

The game company, among the most valuable start-ups in the US, is currently waging a costly legal battle with Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc over fees charged by their app stores. Epic runs its own app store, the Epic Games Store, and alleges that Apple and Alphabet’s Google engage in anticompetitive practices. In September, a California judge found Apple not guilty on nine of 10 counts; Epic is appealing the case.

In addition to producing Fortnite, which has hundreds of millions of registered users, Epic Games also makes one of the most popular game engines, Unreal Engine. Last week, Epic released Unreal Engine 5.

Sony, which works with Epic on the PlayStation and already owned a stake in the company, and Kirkbi, the family-owned holding company behind the Lego toy brand, each invested US$1 billion in the new deal. “All three companies highly value both creators and players, and aim to create new social entertainment exploring the connection between digital and physical worlds,” according to the statement.

Last week, Epic said it’s making a “digital experience for kids of all ages” with Lego. Details on the virtual experience remain sparse, but Epic and Lego emphasised it would be a “safe and positive space” for kids to play online.

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