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 funding in Epic from 2024. That would change this November, Bloomberg studies, when Epic releases a Disney-themed extraction shooter. The sport is certainly one of three Disney tasks the writer is at present engaged on, and is reportedly anticipated to be Epic’s comeback after the corporate laid off 1,000 staff in March on account of a “downturn in Fortnite engagement.”
The sport is reportedly much like Arc Raiders, a multiplayer shooter the place gamers battle for sources earlier than escaping via an extraction level, however with Disney characters combating enemies as a substitute of post-apocalyptic survivors. Bloomberg writes that inner reviewers have apprehensive that the sport’s mechanics are “not very unique,” however the challenge is essentially the most promising of the three Epic is growing. The second title acquired middling inner evaluations, in response to Bloomberg, and Epic moved sources off the third challenge “after studies that Disney was disenchanted 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 might 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 a number of video games inside Fortnite over the previous few years with distinct mechanics. The developer introduced that it could shut down three of these titles — Rocket Racing, Ballistic and Fortnite Competition Battle Stage — as a part of its current spherical of layoffs. In line with present and former Epic staff Bloomberg spoke to, a number of affected staff have been additionally engaged on these unannounced Disney video games.
When it invested in Epic in 2024, Disney advised it could 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 formidable than that, but when they handle to extend engagement with Fortnite and Disney’s model, that may not matter.
