Fortnite brings Disney characters, here’s the trailer
Epic Games and Disney are collaborating on several upcoming games as part of the mysterious “Disney x Fortnite” project, and now one of them has apparently been revealed prematurely.
Bloomberg reports that the first new game from Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games will be released in November and will be a shooter in the style of the popular extraction game Arc Raiders. Players can take on the role of a Disney character and fight until they reach an evacuation point, sources told the website. According to the report, the project was internally considered “not very original” in its current form, but other employees were optimistic that it would be in better shape by launch.
At least two more Fortnite x Disney games
According to sources, Disney’s investment in Epic and Fortnite will extend to at least two more games. An early version of the second game reportedly received “mediocre internal reviews.” The report further stated that the budget for the third game was redirected to the first two projects because “Disney was disappointed with Epic’s release schedule.”
An Epic Games spokesperson told Bloomberg that the reporting on these unannounced games “does not reflect the ambitions of the Disney partnership.” The spokesperson said Epic pursues “aggressive” development schedules, and always has.
“We have reassigned numerous developers to projects with upcoming releases, while smaller prototyping teams are working on projects that are further in the future,” the spokesperson said. A Disney spokesperson, meanwhile, stated that they remain focused on a “long-term partnership” with Epic to create a “groundbreaking gaming and entertainment universe.”
According to a report from Epic Games, the latest round of layoffs included over 1,000 employees, including those working on the as-yet-unannounced Disney games. Three former Epic developers told Bloomberg they were faced with an “unrealistic timeline.” Several current and former Epic developers confirmed that this was a typical pattern that they believe contributed to Epic’s recent decision to reduce staff.
Although the announced Arc Raiders-style game in Fortnite would be the first completely new Disney game for the platform, Disney and Epic have a long history of collaboration. Numerous Star Wars and Marvel characters, for example, are already featured in Fortnite, and the Toy Story characters have been in the game since today, April 10th. Furthermore, Fortnite players can now create their own Star Wars games utilizing numerous Star Wars assets, including iconic locations, weapons, voices and music.
Disney and Epic also collaborate on film and television productions, with Disney’s Lucasfilm providing the Unreal Engine for major productions such as The Mandalorian. In addition, Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, explains that Fortnite could host movie premieres or even allow players to purchase tickets for the Disney Cruise Line.
D’Amaro’s enthusiasm for video games, coupled with ongoing investments and the close relationship between Disney and Epic, has fueled speculation that Disney could acquire Epic and Fortnite. Whether this will happen remains to be seen, and Epic CEO Tim Sweeney owns the majority stake in Epic and would have to approve the purchase.
