Epic Games raised a whopping $2 billion to accelerate its metaverse efforts. Today, the company announced the investments from Sony Group Corporation, a previous investor in Epic Games, and KIRKBI, the family-owned holdings and investment company behind The Lego Group. Each company invested $1 billion respectively to fund Epic’s metaverse vision.
“This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build a community and thrive,” said Epic Games CEO and Founder Tim Sweeney.
The Lego Group has an ongoing relationship with Epic Games. Last week, the Fortnite and Lego developers announced they would be coming together to “build a space in the metaverse that’s fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families.”
But what exactly is the metaverse? Well, that’s a commonly asked question and one that nobody can answer concisely. Any Neal Stephenson fan might tell you to read Snow Crash for a better idea. Currently, the closest thing we have to a working metaverse is perhaps games like Fortnite and Roblox, with their in-game live events and concerts. The idea can be boiled down to a socially-connected virtual world.
Semantics aside, Epic is certainly one of the main contenders leading the charge into this innovative new take on virtual worlds. Epic Games has the tools at its disposal with Unreal Engine, and now the funding to the tune of $2 billion to create new experiences and grow existing ones to empower creators and allow them to build massive virtual communities that will further realize the concept.
Epic Games has a post-money equity valuation of $31.5 billion. The investments are subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
