Epic Games accepts $2 billion investment from Sony and Lego to build the metaverse

[Polycount]

In brief: Epic Games remains a controversial fixture of the PC gaming industry, but both its competitors and completely unaffiliated corporations feel it's going places. A new announcement from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that the Lego Group's parent company, KIRKBI, and Sony are planning massive investments in the gaming giant. The funding comes out to $1 billion each, so $2 billion in total.

Even for a massive gaming behemoth like Epic, $2 billion is a lot of money. For reference, Fortnite generated $5.1 billion in revenue during 2020 (the last year such data was publicly available). Obviously, Epic has more sources of income than Fortnite alone, but it's still one of their biggest cash cows.

Sweeney claims Sony and KIRKBI's collective investment will allow Epic to "accelerate" its work to build the "metaverse," the ever-nebulous concept of a shared virtual world inspired by the likes of Ready Player One's Oasis. Epic's version of this digital environment will be one where users and creators can work together to "build a community and thrive."

As for Sony's interest in Epic, company CEO Kenichiro Yoshida says "deepening" its relationship with Epic in the metaverse field was part of the reason behind its investment. However, Sony also aims to combine its technology with Epic's game engine expertise to push the development of new digital "fan experiences" in sports and "virtual production initiatives" further, though it's unclear what those terms mean.

KIRKBI's investment goal is a little more personal. Company CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen says that KIRKBI is primarily interested in supporting trends that it believes will impact the world "our children will live in," while also accelerating engagement in the world of digital play. Sørensen is likely referring to the metaverse here -- Lego and Epic Games have already announced a long-term partnership focused on making the metaverse a safer place for kids.

Only time will tell how impactful these investments from Sony and Lego will be in the long run. Regardless, it's clear that neither company is put off by some of Epic's more recent controversies, such as its failed lawsuit against Apple (which did have a silver lining).

Image credit: Andrew, Xavi Cabrera

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/94142-epic-games-accepts-2-billion-investment-sony-lego.html

 

[bviktor]

"Silver lining", yeah, good for devs, especially for greedy / malicious ones, bad for users. Absolutely zero assurance. Pay on whatever shady site the dev redirects you to.

I just had my card revoked because some *ouchebag attempted to charge it for a couple hundred backs after a tiny payment on some random site. I CAN'T WAIT to have that cr@p happen from within iOS apps, really! /s

When you guys talk about how "great" it'd be if Apple let the devs loose, I really can't imagine what you're thinking. As if all devs were working for some charity. Do you even know how many frauds happen every single second, as we speak? How can you be so ignorant and clueless? Were you living under a rock when all those Windows malware spread across the globe on that open ecosystem? And Windows will never get rid of those. Not until you can run any random exe files on your system.

These ecosystems need to be locked down, not opened up. If you want your "freedom" to let any scammer rip you off, feel free to use a rooted Android phone and leave iOS the f alone. Thank you kindly.

 

[Hexic]

"Silver lining", yeah, good for devs, especially for greedy / malicious ones, bad for users. Absolutely zero assurance. Pay on whatever shady site the dev redirects you to.

I just had my card revoked because some *ouchebag attempted to charge it for a couple hundred backs after a tiny payment on some random site. I CAN'T WAIT to have that cr@p happen from within iOS apps, really! /s

When you guys talk about how "great" it'd be if Apple let the devs loose, I really can't imagine what you're thinking. As if all devs were working for some charity. Do you even know how many frauds happen every single second, as we speak? How can you be so ignorant and clueless? Were you living under a rock when all those Windows malware spread across the globe on that open ecosystem? And Windows will never get rid of those. Not until you can run any random exe files on your system.

These ecosystems need to be locked down, not opened up. If you want your "freedom" to let any scammer rip you off, feel free to use a rooted Android phone and leave iOS the f alone. Thank you kindly.

The "sky is falling nobody can be trusted" theory doesn't hold any weight here.

All apple has to do is NOT restrict the ABILITY of other payment systems in their platform. Whatever payment systems are chosen by the end user (you know, personal choice and all) are up to them, and do not affect the overall security of the iOS system.

The devs always get their percentage - the problem is Apple used to take the overwhelming percentage by force, not by choice. Now that the rules have changed, Apple is upset because they aren't guaranteed their consistent pile of money every time someone buys something on iOS.

Security is irrelevant, 'protecting the users' is irrelevant. Apple wanting to keep that money coming in is the sole reason this fight ever began. Don't drink the kool-aid.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

So.....do lego games have to be connected? What is this "metaverse" going to do? It sure sounds like it's yet another always online DRM system that all your games will ahve to link through to function, but with the "think of the children" angle throw in there for good measure.

Kids, frankly, shouldnt be playing online AT ALL. Perhaps young kids, and hear me out on this, should be playing games offline, with their friends, in the same room! What a novel concept.

"Silver lining", yeah, good for devs, especially for greedy / malicious ones, bad for users. Absolutely zero assurance. Pay on whatever shady site the dev redirects you to.

I just had my card revoked because some *ouchebag attempted to charge it for a couple hundred backs after a tiny payment on some random site. I CAN'T WAIT to have that cr@p happen from within iOS apps, really! /s

When you guys talk about how "great" it'd be if Apple let the devs loose, I really can't imagine what you're thinking. As if all devs were working for some charity. Do you even know how many frauds happen every single second, as we speak? How can you be so ignorant and clueless? Were you living under a rock when all those Windows malware spread across the globe on that open ecosystem? And Windows will never get rid of those. Not until you can run any random exe files on your system.

These ecosystems need to be locked down, not opened up. If you want your "freedom" to let any scammer rip you off, feel free to use a rooted Android phone and leave iOS the f alone. Thank you kindly.

So you used your CC on a shady website, got it stolen, and somehow this is apple's fault? Geneus!

Here's a hint, nobody is forcing you to use unsigned apps. you can continue to suckle at apple's teat all you want, nobody is stopping you. Some of us would like to be able to run useful apps that apple refuses to allow, or use payment processors that dont give the richest company on earth even MORE money, nobody is saying you have to use it.

And what does ANY of this have to do with a metaverse?

 

[Lounds]

That's a lot of money invested. They're going to want a massive return on investment.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Safe for shaking kids down, they mean.

Cartoons weren't made to entertain kids. They were made to sell product via ads.

Society hasn't changed.