Epic and Disney want to make ‘what every Disney fan has ever wanted’

In February, Disney and Epic Games announced that they were collaborating on a “persistent universe” that would feature characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more. Disney franchises have been featured in Fortnite for years, but this new universe promises to be something grander — and will be interoperable with Fortnite.

Disney and Epic didn’t share many details about how this would all work when it was announced. But after talking to Epic executives during Unreal Fest in Seattle this week, I’ve learned a bit more about what to expect.

A lot of it comes down to connecting into Epic’s ecosystem. “Disney wants a persistent place where all things Disney can be there, but they want to be part of an ecosystem we’ve built,” Epic Games EVP Saxs Persson says in an interview with The Verge. “We see the power of ecosystems interoperating as being really the magic here. From a player perspective, you want to be able to flow between a Fortnite experience, a Disney experience, or any experience really.”

Persson says players will be able to come into the Disney universe “in the Disney front door or the Fortnite front door.” But they’ll connect on the backend to the same cosmetic “lockers” and social graph. “From a player perspective, it just feels seamless.” (What Persson is describing sounds somewhat like how Lego Fortnite, which is a survival crafting game, ties into Fortnite more broadly.)

For Disney, teaming up with Epic makes plenty of sense. Many players already own a bunch of outfits from Marvel and Star Wars in Fortnite, so if Disney went to the considerable trouble of building a Fortnite competitor, players might not want to move over if they’re already heavily invested in Epic’s ecosystem. Epic has already proved that it can be a great caretaker of Disney franchises in Fortnite, too. And then there’s the business side of things: Disney eliminated its own metaverse division last year, and as part of this new arrangement, Disney invested $1.5 billion into Epic. If Epic succeeds, then Disney will succeed as well.

But the partnership doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to run around the Fortnite battle royale island as Mickey Mouse with a gun. “Not every outfit will be able to do everything,” Persson says. “A [Lego] minifig doesn’t hold a gun. Brands should be able to enforce the brand guidelines to the degree that they’re comfortable with that brand being associated with particular ratings.”

Disney understands that different franchises are suitable to certain experiences, Persson says. “Some IPs are not teen IPs or mature IPs. They are E for everyone IPs.” That’s why you can already play as many Disney-owned characters wielding a gun in Fortnite. Most are from Marvel and Star Wars, but as of last week, the list now includes Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, and Disney villains Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, and Captain Hook are set to be playable characters soon, too.

Epic and Disney haven’t said exactly when their persistent universe might be available. But Persson is clearly very excited about it already. “It’s one of those partnerships that you can only wish for,” Persson says. “This is all of Disney, and this is all-in from both companies to make what every Disney fan has ever wanted.”