Epic Games, which recently announced its partnership with the LEGO Group, today announced a $2 billion funding round to support the metaverse and its continued growth.
The round includes investments from existing investors Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the family conglomerate and investment firm behind the LEGO Group. Each team will make investments of 1 billion dollars, respectively. The common goal of the three companies, which value creators and gamers a lot, is to create new entertainment by connecting the digital and physical worlds.
Kenichiro Yoshida, President, President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, commented:
“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time. We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”
KIRKBI CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen added;
“Epic Games is known for building playful and creative experiences and empowering creators large and small. A proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in. This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse.”
Epic Games CEO and Founder Tim Sweeney, whose equity valuation after the investment is $31.5 billion, gave the following words in his speech;
“As we reimagine the future of entertainment and play we need partners who share our vision. We have found this in our partnership with Sony and KIRKBI. This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences and creators can build a community and thrive.”
