Disney x Fortnite: Everything We Know

The Walt Disney Company has officially chalked up the outlines for a contract that will cement its place in Epic Games' Fortnite for the foreseeable future. That's right, Mickey Mouse and the other beloved folks of Disney-Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars are all joining the multi-billion dollar franchise, which means there's a whole heap of fresh content on the horizon for the 100 million active members and counting.

“In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more,” Disney wrote in a recent press release. “Players, gamers, and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content with each other in ways that they love. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.”

So, what more do we know about Epic Games' upcoming collaboration with Walt Disney? Well, if you are interested in learning all there is to know about it, then be sure to read on. Here's everything we can tell you about the future of Fortnite and its newfound relationship with The Walt Disney Company.

What Is Disney x Fortnite?

Creating a new universe ✨@Disney x Epic Gameshttps://t.co/gTwt5e3dpz pic.twitter.com/iPC0T2FlzU

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 7, 2024

Disney is officially joining Epic Games' Fortnite to deliver brand-new stories and experiences for the community to absorb and tailor. In other words, the two teams will be collaborating to “build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.”

“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games. “Now we’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.”

“This will enable us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before,” added Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.”

Story

The Walt Disney Company promises to deliver a wide array of games, collectibles, and experiences from within the world of Fortnite—a move that will fortify its position as one of the biggest collaborators in the game’s long and healthy reign as one of the most successful gaming franchises in existence.

“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”

Gameplay

There’s still a lot we don’t actually know about the collaboration, much less its gameplay elements and selected worlds. With that said, we do know that Disney will be allocated their own universe within the Fortnite infrastructure, which means there’ll be plenty  of room for it to grow and expand into other IPs over the coming months, and perhaps even years.

Development

Epic Games initially teased the outlines for its upcoming collaboration with The Walt Disney Company earlier this week, at which point the Fortnite developer posted a short trailer showcasing several of the new biomes that'll hold a stake in the acclaimed franchise's infrastructure. According to a press release issued by Disney, the media giant will be looking to invest a whopping $1.5 billion to obtain an equity stake in Epic Games.

“The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences,” the press release states. “Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside the multiyear project. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.”

Trailer

In spite of the lack of gameplay footage surrounding the upcoming collaboration, Epic Games does at least have a bit of footage to showcase some of the areas and characters that we'll be seeing in future expansions. You can check out the initial announcement trailer in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

At the time of writing, we don't have a concrete release date for Disney's integration into Fortnite. However, if we're to go by the sneak preview that Epic Games teased earlier this week, then we can expect The Walt Disney Company to be fully implemented into the core framework “soon-ish.” As for how soon it'll be, rather annoyingly, is still a bit of a mystery. With that said, if we had to put a pin in it, then we'd favor a Q4 2024 release at the earliest. Don't quote us on that, though.

The good news is, Fortnite is, and forever will be, available across all major platforms, which means you’ll be able to access a lot of the upcoming content on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC.

Interested in staying up to date with Epic Games' upcoming collaboration with The Walt Disney Company? If so, then be sure to check in with the folks over at EG for all the latest updates via their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of its global release, then we'll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be clocking back into Fortnite as it prepares to onboard its Disney-Pixar extension? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.