Disney Partnering with Epic for new Disney Gaming Universe

[Luminary]

Disney has announced they are partnering with Epic Games to create a new gaming universe connected to Fortnite that brings together all of their franchises. They will also be investing $1.5 billion into Epic for an equity stake in the company.

“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, 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.”

Disney and Epic Games to Create Expansive and Open Games and Entertainment Universe Connected to Fortnite - The Walt Disney Company

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.

thewaltdisneycompany.com

Mods, feel free to move to the Video Games forum if desired. But I’m sharing here as I’m curious to know what people’s thoughts are on what impact this could have on KH. The statement also calls out Kingdom Hearts 3 when describing the history of Disney and Epic’s relationship.

Could we see Sora appear in Fortnite down the road? Could Disney’s partnership with Epic benefit SE when making KH games on Unreal Engine? Is Kingdom Hearts cancelled in favor of Kingdom Fortnite? Share your thoughts below.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

Could we see Sora appear in Fortnite down the road?

Dear Lord I hope not.

 

[Launchpad]

Sora, Peter Griffin, Eren Jaeger and Travis Scott all in the same Fortnite party? Um.. pinch me, because either I'm dreaming or I just died and went to heaven!

 

[Luminary]

If I see Sora flossing, that might just send me over the edge.

I don’t expect him in Fortnite proper, but who knows. I hope Nomura would put his foot down though. But if this Disney World-like universe will be separate from the battle royale, I could see some KH characters or references appearing.

The idea seems to be a virtual Disney World based on that concept image, So it would be nice to see KH get a little slice of real estate. Maybe a Traverse Town or Destiny Islands themed area. But much like the real Disney World, we’ll probably be stuck with a virtual Black Coat Mickey Mouse pin or something.

Also, if the Disney characters and stories can overlap and interact in this, KH deserves more flexibility with how it can use the Disney elements.

 

[KeybladeLordSora]

From what I've heard, Disney values their relationship with Square on KH and despite owning the series, anything they want to do with it has to go through Nomura.

And getting Sora into Smash was already a bit of a toughy when it came to Nomura as he valued Sora remaining accurate to where Kirby couldn't hold an actual keyblade.

Putting Sora or ANY KH character into Fortnite would no doubt be a hard negative cuz Sora holding an actual legit GUN gun and hitting the griddy would not fly well. Can't have KH1 Sora either without basically having KH2/3 Sora in the ill-fitting post 2 prologue version cuz every damn Fortnite character has to be the exact same height.

 

[Launchpad]

I love Sora so, so dearly. But that does not mean he is too precious to me to be forced to dance to The Kid Laroi. I love Sora on the level where I would love to see him put through all sorts of official digital humiliation for my amusement

 

[HakaishinChampa]

I mean I doubt Peter Griffin will ever be in a Kingdom Hearts game so this is the only way Sora will be able to interact with him lol

 

[Luminary]

From what I've heard, Disney values their relationship with Square on KH and despite owning the series, anything they want to do with it has to go through Nomura.

And getting Sora into Smash was already a bit of a toughy when it came to Nomura as he valued Sora remaining accurate to where Kirby couldn't hold an actual keyblade.

Putting Sora or ANY KH character into Fortnite would no doubt be a hard negative cuz Sora holding an actual legit GUN gun and hitting the griddy would not fly well. Can't have KH1 Sora either without basically having KH2/3 Sora in the ill-fitting post 2 prologue version cuz every damn Fortnite character has to be the exact same height.

Yeah I don’t see him being in Fortnite proper for those reasons. But I don’t see Elsa or other Disney animated characters being in it either. There could be some KH themed cosmetics or something though. (I don’t play Fortnite and don’t really know how customization, etc. works, but I believe there may be skins that are only inspired by characters? Feel free to correct me.

But I think the more realistic opportunity would be in this new Disney sub-space. I doubt they’ll have characters like Moana, Elsa, etc. taking part in the battle royale. But they’ll undoubtedly be featured in this new universe. I could see a special event around a KH release where MDG will appear with Sora in their KH outfits and you’ll be able to interact with them in some way.

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

Not quite sure I understand the full context of the article, but does that mean that nearly all Disney IP (except KH which SE has a solid, ironclad hold on because of that mysterious contract) based games will be published by Epic? Including Star Wars?

 

[Luminary]

Not quite sure I understand the full context of the article, but does that mean that nearly all Disney IP (except KH which SE has a solid, ironclad hold on because of that mysterious contract) based games will be published by Epic? Including Star Wars?

No, as of right now, it doesn’t change any existing relationships with other studios. For example, Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc. will still be under Insomniac, the Indiana Jones game with Bethesda, etc. We could see Disney push for studios to develop their games using Unreal Engine in the future, but I don’t see them committing to a single developer for all their IPs.

This is more like Epic creating a massive Disney-themed metaverse rather than a traditional video game. It’s like a next level social simulator. Within it, there may be games you can play with friends, interactions with Disney characters, explorable Disney locales, etc. With the Disney+ logo in the concept art, maybe there could be a virtual movie theatre where you and friends can watch a movie together long distance or something. Stuff like that.

 

[MATGSY]

So does this decrease the chances of eventual Steam releases. Because Disney seems all in on Epic now.