In addition to a wealth of Fortnite skins primarily based on Disney IP, it hasn’t actually been clear what the leisure firm has gotten in return for its $1.5 billion investment in Epic from 2024. That would change this November, Bloomberg reports, when Epic releases a Disney-themed extraction shooter. The sport is considered one of three Disney initiatives the writer is presently engaged on, and is reportedly anticipated to be Epic’s comeback after the corporate laid off 1,000 employees in March because of a “downturn in Fortnite engagement.”
The sport is reportedly just like Arc Raiders, a multiplayer shooter the place gamers struggle for sources earlier than escaping via an extraction level, however with Disney characters preventing enemies as an alternative of post-apocalyptic survivors. Bloomberg writes that inside reviewers have nervous that the sport’s mechanics are “not very unique,” however the mission is probably the most promising of the three Epic is growing. The second title acquired middling inside critiques, in line with Bloomberg, and Epic moved sources off the third mission “after stories that Disney was upset by Epic’s launch timeline.”
Whereas particulars of Epic’s work for Disney are coming into focus, it is nonetheless unclear whether or not this new extraction shooter shall be a standalone sport or included as a mode in Fortnite. In its efforts to promote the title as a “multiverse” and a competitor to Roblox, Epic has launched multiple games inside Fortnite over the previous few years with distinct mechanics. The developer introduced that it might shut down three of these titles — Rocket Racing, Ballistic and Fortnite Competition Battle Stage — as a part of its current spherical of layoffs. In response to present and former Epic workers Bloomberg spoke to, a number of affected workers have been additionally engaged on these unannounced Disney video games.
When it invested in Epic in 2024, Disney steered it might construct an “leisure universe” with the developer, the place gamers might “play, watch, store and have interaction with content material, characters and tales from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and extra.” Epic’s present plans sound far much less bold than that, but when they handle to extend engagement with Fortnite and Disney’s model, which may not matter.
