Walt Disney Company president and CCO Dana Walden has dismissed ongoing rumours of an Epic Games buyout, saying “those are not the conversations we are having right now.”
At Bloomberg’s Screentime event last week, Walden referenced the “very serious conversations” between Epic and Disney following Disney’s $1.5 billion equity investment in 2024. She stated that both companies are focused on upcoming launches to “demonstrate the value of this partnership.”
When the acquisition went through, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Epic would “continue to maintain control of the board following the close of [the] transaction.”
Following Disney’s investment in Epic, the companies began a significant collaboration to develop a new “games and entertainment universe.”
A recent collaboration promoted The Mandalorian and Grogu, with Epic launching a new island, Smugglers Gambit, where players visit Disneyland to experience Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.
“When they get there, they link their identities with their Disney ID and Fortnite ID,” Walden explained. “There’s a light touch of personalisation on the actual ride, and then the digital rewards that you win on the ride are redeemable back in Fortnite. That [experience] created so many impressions and awareness for The Mandalorian and Grogu, so there will continue to be events that lift these libraries forever.”
Additional collaborations since the investment have featured characters from Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as multiple Star Wars and Marvel updates. Disney has also integrated these experiences with Disneyland, including Smuggler’s Run.
Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro previously said that the partnership would enable Disney 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.”
“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.”