Disney is rumored to be considering a potential purchase at some point of Epic Games, the company behind “Fortnite” and the Unreal Engine used in a lot of game and film/TV production.
According to Gamespot, Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro has spoken very enthusiastically about growing Disney’s business with gaming.
In an interview with CNBC, former Disney exec Kevin Mayer suggested that D’Amaro take ‘bold steps’ to help Disney make more money and grow its stock price.
D’Amaro championed Disney’s $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games in 2024 for a “Fortnite” project. Mayer says that was a ‘great move’ but suggests they should go further (via The Boardwalk Times): “I think Epic or some other video game asset would be a great addition to The Walt Disney Company’s asset base.”
That was joined by technology reporter Alex Heath, who appeared on Matthew Belloni’s podcast The Town and stated that he knows “for a fact” that senior executives at Disney want to buy Epic Games and are waiting for the right moment.
Heath says, “I think if Epic ever sold, if it ever decided to call it quits on being an independent company, Disney would be the most natural home for it for a lot of reasons.” However, he adds that other Disney executives believe it would be a bad idea.
Earlier this year, Disney executives were exploring potential partnerships with gaming companies, but the search for a new CEO stalled those efforts.
Back in 2023, it was reported Disney was interested in pursuing a purchase of Electronic Arts – but that never materialised and EA ended up selling to a group of investors, including Saudi Arabia’s PIF, for $55 billion.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney retains full voting stock control of the company and can make unilateral decisions regarding its future. The company recently laid off over 1,000 developers.
