Disney Reportedly Keen on Buying Fortnite Developer Epic Games, But Waiting for Right Moment

Disney executives are reportedly keen connected afloat buying Fortnite developer Epic Games astatine immoderate point.

The assertion comes from seasoned tech newsman Alex Heath, via The Town podcast, who said that elder executives were waiting for the close infinitesimal to marque a bid for the metaverse game, pursuing Disney's anterior $1.5 cardinal concern successful developer Epic Games.

Fortnite is the jewel successful the crown of Epic's portfolio — alongside its pervasive improvement toolkit Unreal Engine — and a important wealth spinner. But the past twelvemonth has been rocky for the crippled — thing that led to Epic Games shedding 1,000 unit members past week, owed successful portion to a downturn successful engagement done 2025.

Disney, meanwhile, is already heavy invested successful Fortnite, with a dozens of quality skins and crossovers already portion of the crippled (including Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Disney animated characters) and a long-awaited Disney-specific mode that's acceptable to connection fans a spot to play, watch, make and shop.

"I cognize for a information determination are elder executives successful Disney who privation them to bargain Epic and are conscionable waiting for that moment," Heath said, "and past determination are others who deliberation it's a atrocious idea. If Epic ever sold, if it ever decided to telephone it quits connected being an autarkic company, Disney would beryllium the astir earthy location for it for a batch of reasons."

Here, Heath referenced the upcoming Disney mode — conception creation for which looks similar a virtual Disneyland parkland with assorted themed areas — and the thought it conscionable became "Disney's gaming platform." Despite 2 years of improvement work, however, there's inactive nary proposition of erstwhile it volition yet arrive.

Last year, Sweeney blasted a Wall Street Journal study that claimed improvement of the mode was being hampered by dilatory decision-making astatine Disney, thing helium claimed was "BS." Still, that study stated that the mode — announced backmost successful March 2024 — would not beryllium acceptable earlier this fall, thing which is expected to beryllium borne retired by reality.

"Epic is simply a founder-controlled company," Heath continued. "Tim Sweeney has afloat voting banal power and tin marque unilateral decisions and it's truly up to him. As we saw, helium was the feline who went to bat against the App Stores, against Apple and Google to unfastened those up. And it's astir an ideological crusade erstwhile you're moving a institution similar Epic to bash thing similar that. And helium adjacent acknowledges successful the layoff email that it outgo [Epic]."

One Disney enforcement who powerfully backed the company's concern successful Fortnite was Josh D'Amaro — the aforesaid idiosyncratic who precocious won the contention to go the company's caller CEO. While his tenure has lone conscionable begun, it's believed that D'Amaro volition privation to rapidly marque his people successful the relation this twelvemonth — and helium has antecedently remarked that the motorboat of Fortnite's Disney mode volition beryllium a large infinitesimal for the institution going forward.

Just this week, erstwhile semipermanent Disney enforcement Kevin Mayer said helium expected D'Amaro to marque "bold steps" this twelvemonth and turn the company's gaming output. "I deliberation Epic oregon immoderate different video crippled plus would beryllium a large summation to The Walt Disney Company's plus base," Mayer told CNBC.

Fortnite itself has often struggled to motorboat different modes for its crippled that stray excessively acold from its halfway conflict royale proposition. Interest has waned for the racing, euphony and LEGO modes it launched to fanfare successful precocious 2023, and Epic has antecedently admitted that it's struggled to afloat explicate to consumers that Fortnite is much than conscionable a conflict royale. But plans are seemingly afoot for immoderate benignant of caller era, arsenic mentioned by Sweeney successful his email connected the layoffs. "We'll beryllium kicking disconnected the adjacent procreation of Epic with immense motorboat plans towards the extremity of the year," helium wrote.

Announcing the layoffs past week, Sweeney said Epic Games had reacted to a downturn successful involvement for Fortnite that began successful 2025, though analysts told IGN that less radical playing the game's seasoned conflict royale was lone 1 of its problems. The institution has spent years warring costly ineligible battles with Apple and Google, portion bankrolling the Epic Games Store arsenic it attempts to rival Steam. And past there's the explosive maturation of Roblox, which Fortnite has present fallen acold behind. Many fans consciousness similar it is Epic Games' ain unit that person paid the price, portion those who stay astatine the institution accidental they simply don't cognize however Fortnite volition look aboriginal this twelvemonth and beyond with adjacent to a 4th of the company's unit gone. Perhaps the game's large caller Disney offering volition crook it each around?

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social