PlayStation maker Sony is certainly not afraid to splash the cash. Gaming subsidiary Sony Interactive Entertainment has recently made a wave of acquisitions, including $3.6 Billion for Destiny 2 developer Bungie. Now Sony has made another huge investment in Epic Games, one worth a cool $1 Billion.
This recent investment, announced today in an Epic Games press release, is the third investment Sony has made in the Fortnite and Unreal Engine 5 games company. In June 2020 Sony first invested $250 million, then in 2021 the Japanese group invested a further $200 million.
This $1 Billion investment is to help Epic Games build the “Metaverse” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has said. Sony isn’t the only Epic Games investor in this round of funding, Lego owner KIRKBI has also invested $1 Billion.
The Future of Entertainment
Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney plans to use the newly invested cash to help build the “metaverse” and “reimagine the future of entertainment.”
“As we reimagine the future of entertainment and play we need partners who share our vision. We have found this in our partnership with Sony and KIRKBI,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder, Epic Games. “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.”
Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO and Founder
Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Group said that the investment is to “deepen our relationship in the metaverse field.”
I hope that Sony’s idea of the Metaverse is to bring back PlayStation Home for PS5 and PlayStation VR2.
