Disney Announces 'Biggest Entry Ever Into World of Games'

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it is paying $1.5 billion for a stake in Fortnite maker Epic Games, working with the game developer to create a "games and entertainment universe" that will feature games, shows, and characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more. "This marks Disney's biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. Disney said the two companies have already collaborated on Fortnite content, including the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which drew more than 15.3 million concurrent players, the AP reports.

Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney praised Disney as "one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite," the Guardian reports. "Now we're collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities," he said. Disney shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading. (Disney also announced a surprise Moana sequel Wednesday.)