“Fortnite” creator Epic Games Inc. is now valued at $28.7 billion after raising more capital, funding that comes just weeks before the videogame company heads to trial against Apple Inc.
Epic on Tuesday said it completed a $1 billion funding round that includes an additional $200 million from Sony Group Corp. The company, which also counts Walt Disney Co. and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. among its investors, was valued at $17.3 billion as of last August. Its Chief Executive Tim Sweeney remains the company’s controlling shareholder.
“We are grateful to our new and existing investors who support our vision for Epic and the Metaverse,” Mr. Sweeney said in a statement, referring to the concept of a collective virtual shared space.
Epic is set to take on Apple in court next month. Last August, Epic sued the tech giant, as well as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, after both companies removed “Fortnite” from their app stores because Epic added an unapproved system for processing in-app customer payments to the shooter game. Epic has accused the companies of monopolistic behavior in how they distribute apps to devices and process sales for digital content.
In addition to “Fortnite,” Epic makes the Unreal Engine, a suite of software tools for developing videogames and producing special effects for television shows, movies and other types of digital content. It also owns the video chat app Houseparty and the studios behind hit games such as “Rocket League” and “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.”
