Today just started, and already the news is dropping that the Sony Group Corporation has invested $1 billion into Epic Games. This isn’t (likely) regarding anything gaming-related, but more along the lines of using Epic Games Unreal Engine 4/5 for Sony’s media productions.
“As a creative entertainment company, 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 Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation. “We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”
“Epic Games is known for building playful and creative experiences and empowering creators large and small,” said Søren Thorup Sørensen, CEO, KIRKBI. “A proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in. This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse.”
Again, this doesn’t mean this will give Epic Games exclusives over any potential PlayStation games that will make their way to the PC. It doesn’t rule anything out either, but I’m certain this will help solidify the already strong Sony and Epic Games partnership.
Don’t forget that in May 2020, Sony revealed it was working on a project that would use the Unreal Engine and that this project would be dedicated to reimaging music through immersive media. We’ve yet to find out what this project is, but this $1 billion stake in Epic Games is likely part of it.
