Epic Games, the famous video game studio that is responsible for Fortnite, has just raised $2 billion to accelerate the development of metaverses. This announcement comes just a few days after the company announced a metaverse for children in collaboration with the Lego group.
Epic Games wants its place in the metaverse
Epic Games, the famous American video game studio that has created such famous franchises as Unreal Tournament, Gears of War and Fortnite, has just closed a round of financing of no less than 2 billion dollars.
The fundraising, intended to “build the metaverse”, saw Sony as well as Kirbi, the parent company of LEGO, participate with $1 billion each.
It’s not the first time Sony has invested in Epic Games. Indeed, in 2020, the firm had already invested $250 million in the studio, acquiring at the same time 1.4% of shares in the company. In April 2021, Sony did it again and invested another $200 million in a $1 billion round of financing.
Sony’s stake in Epic Games’ studio marks a significant turning point for the company, as in the past Epic Games had released some of its video games exclusively on Xbox, the video game console that competes with Sony’s PlayStation.
In fact, in 2020, Epic Games chose to publicly reveal the performance of its Unreal Engine 5 video game engine on the PlayStation 5 console.
According to Tim Sweeney, founder and current CEO of Epic Games, these new funds will be able to allow the studio to accelerate the development of the metaverse:
“This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where gamers can have fun with their friends, where brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and where creators can build community and thrive.”
After an approval from regulatory bodies regarding this new capital injection, Epic Games’ valuation will reach a whopping $31.5 billion.
A metaverse for children in preparation
This new announcement comes just days after a statement from Epic Games announcing a partnership with Lego Group to “shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for kids and families.”
For Epic Games, the evolution of the metaverse today is such that it needs to rethink how people meet, play and interact in virtual worlds, especially for children.
Few details about how this metaverse will be structured, but we already know that it will be designed to be as suitable and safe as possible for children and more generally for families, an idea supported by the statement:
“Lego Group and Epic Games will combine their respective experiences to ensure that this next iteration of the Internet is designed from the start with the well-being of children in mind.”
This new project will focus on 3 areas: protecting children’s right to play by making their safety and well-being a priority, protecting their privacy by prioritizing their best interests, and giving children and adults the tools to control their digital experience.
As of this writing, we don’t know when such a metaverse will see the light of day. One thing is for sure, children’s safety will be at the forefront.
