Fortnite’s Epic Games Raises $2B in Metaverse Play

The raise puts the firm’s valuation at $31.5 billion. 

Epic Games Closes $2B Raise.

Epic Games is going long on the Metaverse. 

The gaming company behind the battle royale hit Fortnite announced it had completed a $2 billion raise Monday, putting the firm’s post-money equity valuation at $31.5 billion. Sony and LEGO owner KIRKBI both invested $1 billion in the raise. Sony’s investment comes after it contributed $450 million to the firm’s July 2020 and April 2021 raises.  

In a Monday blog post, the firm said it had raised the funds “to advance the company’s vision to build the Metaverse and support its continued growth.” While the announcements didn’t share specific details about how the funds will be spent, representatives from the three firms leaned in on the Metaverse when discussing the raise. 

“We are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the Metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,” said Sony Chairman, President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. KIRKBI CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen added that his firm was pleased to support Epic Games on its journey “with a long-term focus toward the future Metaverse.” Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said that the funding would go toward building the Metaverse and referred to it as a space “where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build a community and thrive.”

Though the Metaverse is still a loosely defined concept, technology enthusiasts use the term to refer to a next-generation version of the Internet where people can connect with friends, work, and more inside virtual worlds. Cryptocurrency fans often talk about the Metaverse in tandem with Web3 as it’s believed that blockchain technology could underpin the Internet of the future, giving users a way to earn for their participation. Billions of dollars of capital have been allocated to projects promising to build out the Metaverse as hype gained momentum. Arguably the most notable development came in October when Facebook announced that it had rebranded to Meta to “bring the Metaverse to life.” Since then, the likes of Samsung, Adidas, JPMorgan, and HSBC have signaled their interest in breaking into the space. Fortnite’s creator is only the latest addition to a rapidly growing list. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.