This partnership aims to forge a ground-breaking gaming and entertainment universe that merges Disney’s iconic brands and Epic’s gaming expertise.

Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe.”

He emphasized the vast potential for growth and expansion that this venture represents for Disney.

Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games, highlighted Disney’s early recognition of the synergy between their respective worlds in Fortnite.

“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio,” Sweeney said.

He emphasized their joint effort to create a persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem that would unite the Disney and Fortnite communities.

Creating a new universe @Disney x Epic Gameshttps://t.co/gTwt5e3dpz pic.twitter.com/iPC0T2FlzU

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 7, 2024

The collaboration is expected to yield a multi-year project, although specific details regarding its scope and release date are yet to be disclosed.

However, given the success of previous collaborations between Disney and Epic within Fortnite, such as featuring Marvel and Star Wars skins and hosting live events like the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, anticipation is high for what this expansive new universe will entail.

Overall, Disney’s investment in Epic Games signals a significant foray into the gaming industry, promising fans innovative and immersive experiences that blend the magic of Disney’s storytelling with the interactive world of gaming.

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Despite the dominance of ESL FACEIT Group in the industry, BLAST has expanded its influence, taking over commercial rights for competitive broadcasts and events for both games.

Initially partnering with Epic Games in 2021 for Fortnite events, BLAST has now renewed and expanded the collaboration, handling all operations for the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and venturing into the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS).

This move comes as a surprise to those who expected BLAST to contract following the ESL-FACEIT merger.

BLAST, known for its prominent role in Counter-Strike with BLAST Premier, has been strategic in its expansion, also overseeing leagues and events in Rainbow Six Siege and FNCS.

The company’s ability to operate within the margins, securing contracts for esports beyond traditional sports arenas, signals a positive outlook for diversified competition among tournament organizers.

While ESL’s vast resources could potentially dominate the market, BLAST’s flexibility and ability to secure contracts for esports with varying levels of popularity showcase a healthier competition landscape.

The expansion into RLCS marks a significant step for BLAST, taking charge of all league operations for the FNCS and RLCS, demonstrating its commitment to elevating and growing competitive properties in collaboration with major game publishers like Epic Games.

BLAST Epic Games

We have announced a multi-year deal & collaboration with Epic Games to run their prestigious competitive tournaments, the @FNCompetitive (FNCS) and @RLEsports (RLCS) starting in 2024.

Read more: https://t.co/dbo5FXzzBV pic.twitter.com/GQKNMnX6Ph

— BLAST (@BLASTEsports) January 4, 2024

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This move accounts for roughly 16% of the workforce. Of these job cuts, around 250 employees are connected to Epic’s divestiture of Bandcamp and SuperAwesome.

The decision to reduce the workforce comes as a response to Epic’s financial situation.

Sweeney acknowledged that the company has been operating at a deficit, attributing it to their investments in the development of the Epic ecosystem and the growth of Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired platform for content creators.

While Fortnite is seeing renewed growth, it relies heavily on creator content with a substantial revenue-sharing model, which has lower profit margins compared to the early days when Fortnite Battle Royale funded their expansion.

This shift in business model necessitated a major structural change in the company’s financial approach.

Sweeney emphasized that Epic had been making continuous efforts to trim costs globally, such as freezing new hiring and reducing expenses in areas like marketing and events.

However, these efforts fell short of achieving financial sustainability, prompting the layoffs as a necessary step to stabilize the company’s finances.

Employees affected by the layoffs will receive a severance package consisting of six months’ base pay and six months of Epic-paid healthcare, applicable in the US, Canada, and Brazil.

Additionally, Epic is offering an accelerated stock option vesting schedule until the end of 2024, granting two extra years for option exercise.

In the US, they are also allowing unearned profit sharing from employees’ 401k accounts to vest.

The company will provide support for career transition services and visa-related matters where feasible.

Epic has asserted that these layoffs mark the conclusion of their restructuring efforts and will bring financial stability to the company moving forward.

This decision coincides with their ongoing legal battle with Apple over antitrust issues and a recent announcement that Fortnite’s in-game currency, V-Bucks, will see a price increase due to inflation.

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In a complaint announced in December as part of a settlement package with Epic, the FTC said that the company deployed a variety of design tricks known as ‘dark patterns’ aimed at getting consumers of all ages to make unintended in-game purchases.

The FTC claims that “Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button”, making it easy for children to make purchases while playing Fortnite without any parental consent.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Epic locked the accounts of customers who disputed unauthorised charges with their credit card companies.

The FTC has ordered Epic to pay $245 million, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers, as well as barring the company from blocking consumers from accessing their accounts for disputing unauthorised charges.

As part of the $520 million settlement announced in December last year, Epic agreed to pay $275 million for violating Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Fortnite players who believe that they have been impacted by the practices can visit the official Fortnite page on the FTC website for more information.

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The tournament, which is open solely to college students in the United States and Canada, has a total prize pool of $50,000

Epic Games made the announcement via Twitter on December 8, inviting interested parties to register for the contest.

The Solo Battle Royale mode of Fortnite is set to heat up as college students gear up for two rounds of intense competition. The first round commences on January 26 and the top 100 players will advance to the second round, which is to be held on January 31.

In addition, College Carball Association (CCA) has announced its plans, stating that there will be two Zero Builds rounds for Trios squads a month later, with the first round occurring on February 23 and the second on February 28.

Epic Games has also announced that it will provide more opportunities for competitive action throughout the spring semester with competitive scrimmages, such as third-party tournaments and school-hosted competitions.

The Fortnite College Cup was established through a partnership between the CCA and esports platform eFuse, with the latter being the event’s primary sponsor.

As a result of an agreement earlier in the year, entertainment platform Fandom has been given exclusive rights to sell advertising for eFuse’s collegiate events, including the Collegiate Call Of Duty League, the College Carball Association, and Collegiate Fortnite.

In addition, Epic Games recently disclosed the details of Fortnite’s competitive season for the upcoming months as the game enters a new phase. Tournaments such as the Fortnite Divisional Cup and FNCS online competition will continue as usual, in anticipation of some new launches.

There will also be completely new offerings launched like the introduction of new features such as Victory Cups, Fill Cups, and Zero Build Cups, the list of innovations will also include the Collegiate Cups.

However, the prize pool distribution amongst the supposed participants is still unknown. Prior contests have seen every participating player who advanced to the finals walk away with some bits of the prize pool.

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Scarlett was one of the applicants for a senior front-end web developer position at Epic. According to spokesperson and corporate communications director at Epic Games, Elka Looks, the organization was aware of Scarlett’s labor activism before the interview session, and that it had no influence on the recruiting process.

She stated that Scarlett’s application had a link that redirects to her personal web page, which showed her various activities, but it played no role in the interview session carried out.

“This candidate’s resume and application included a link to their personal website,” Looks said. “The website details their organizing activity, and this information did not factor into our decision to proceed with interviews”.

Scarlett informed The Washington Post that she was a member of Apple Together, a workers’ rights organization, and claimed that through November and December 2021, she has gone through four rounds of interviews with Epic.

Scarlett provided information on this group when Epic requested a “Request for Activity” form. She found out she did not get the job two days after having to fill out the application. According to Looks, Epic decided to choose “someone else who scored higher in their interviews.”

The NLRB has not yet received Epic’s petition, indicating that it is still being investigated. The NLRB will most likely investigate the complaint to see if it has substance. The NLRB will file a complaint against Epic if the labor union decides that the corporation has violated labor rights.

Cher Scarlett filed a lawsuit against Mozilla and Apple months ago
Scarlett, who became a top software program developer at ControlZee working on a game called “dot massive boom,” told The Washington Post that she is “nonetheless heartbroken over how foolish [she] was to believe this corporation was on the side of laborers.”

“There isn’t any different rationalization, apart from the truth that I put that stuff in writing … however I used to be making an attempt to be sincere,” Scarlett said. “This was such an important match that I let go of different prospects and now actually mistrust the business at massive and really feel like my voice, together with the voices of the others within the office are seen as a legal responsibility, relatively than an vital a part of making nice workplaces.”

Scarlett filed a lawsuit with the NLRB on Feb 9th, 2022, against tech firm, Mozilla, the makers of Firefox, as shown in the Washington Post. Scarlett claimed that Mozilla had also declined to recruit her because of the same labor advocacy.

Scarlett however has tendered three accusations on iPhone creators, Apple. She claims Apple was interfering with her capacity to collect pay data, rebelling against employees, and fostering a hostile workplace that prompted her to quit in November 2021. Currently, Mozilla, Epic, and Apple are being investigated by NLRB.

Scarlett has gained attention in the past months as a result of her labor rights activism at Apple and her use of Twitter to raise awareness of other labor injustices.

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A joint statement was released by all three brands expressing their hope for the future and the direction the funding will be targeted to. In the statement, the funding was said to be going towards the “vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth”.

“??They reinstated their commitment to the creators and players likewise. Stating that the objective is to create great social entertainment, whilst exploring the link between digital and physical,” the statement read.

?”All three companies highly value both creators and players, and aim to create new social entertainment exploring the connection between digital and physical worlds.”

The investment was made possible by the Japanese tech giant Sony and the private holding and investment company KIRKBI, who both invested a billion dollars each. In a bid to maintain cohesion within the company, Epic Games will be retaining its Founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney. ??

Speaking about the investment, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, Kenichiro Yoshida, shared his strong confidence in Epic and its efforts towards creating an amazing experience for the esports and gaming community.?

“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,” he said.

??There’s been a huge interest around the metaverse, NFTs, and Web3 and their endless offerings from various esports companies, including BAYZ, EVOS Esports, and Yesports. While there was scarce information as regards the actual products to be developed or impacted, whether or not it will include esports betting in the metaverse. They promised to create a new digital experience for fans, which could involve their esports games and possible betting options for a reward-based experience.

??About Epic Games

?The American video game developer and publisher was formerly known as Potomac Computer Systems, which launched in 1991. It was initially operational from founder Tim Sweeney’s parents’ house in Potomac, Maryland.

?After several name changes, like Epic MegaGame, Sweeney and partner Mark Rein settled for a much simpler name with Epic Games. Its headquarters was moved to Cary, North Carolina, in 1999.

?Epic Games is also known for Unreal Engine, a commercial engine available for game creators to build on. The engine has overtime powered popular games and has also been used in various other industries such as automotive, film and television, and manufacturing, amongst others.

?Epic is the leading interactive gaming platform with its flagship product, Fortnite. The battle royale title, which has over 350 million registered accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections, has grown into one of the biggest games in the world.

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Epic made a post on its official website this Tuesday in which the firm unveiled several changes coming to the Epic Store in 2020, including a weekly free games program throughout the year in a bid to give back to the community.

The post also featured a detailed infographic which presented all the numbers associated with the Epic Store and Epic Games, including the amount of followers the company gained on its social media platforms.

Out of the $680 million spent at the Epic Games Store in 2019, $251 million was spent by players on third-party PC games, meaning Epic earned $429 million via its own games and services. While the company did not specify which of its games contributed the most revenue, it is easy to guess that most of the $680 million came from Fortnite via the V-Bucks in-game currency.

SEE ALSO: EPIC GAMES CONFIRMS FORTNITE WINTER ROYALE DETAILS

While making money is any business’s main goal, Epic made sure to mention it had also offered 73 free games that were claimed over 200 million times. The firm will now expand on the idea by offering new free games each week throughout 2020.

From now until Thursday, January 16, Epic will offer a free copy of an RPG game called Sundered, which will be succeeded by award-winning platformer Horace, set to be available for free from January 16-23.

The Epic Store launched in December 2018 and has since seen a huge growth in popularity. The store offers a large selection of games, including World War Z, Satisfactory, Dauntless, Borderlands 3 and Metro Exodus among many other titles.

Epic Games is planning on further expanding its store and services, which prides itself on offering 88% revenue sharing with the game developers – far above the industry average of 70%. The Epic Store will also offer developers and publishers a chance to choose their own in-game payment processor and keyless purchasing integration with Humble – a digital storefront for video games – in a bid to make the platform more appealing and developer-friendly.

Epic will also help developers support cross-platform play between PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iOS and Android by using the tools built for Fortnite. Dauntless is the first third-party game with Epic-powered support for Xbox, Switch, PlayStation and PC, with more games said to be added in 2020.

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The events is scheduled to begin on Friday, December 20 and will run for three days, concluding on Monday, December 22. The total prize pool of US $15 million covers a number of separate events in several different regions.

SEE ALSO: FORTNITE BETTING SITES

Each of the three days will feature different scoring values. Players will receive points based on their placement during the Duos matches as well as the eliminations that they accumulate.

Day 1 – December 20
On the first day of the tournament, each team that wins will receive 15 points for the victory royale and one point for each elimination.

Day 2 – December 21
On the second day of the tournament, the scoring values will be significantly higher. The winning team will receive 60 points for each victory royale and each elimination will be worth a total of five points. Based on the final placement during the match, each of the participating teams will earn points as shown in the table below.

1st: 60 points
2nd-3rd: 50 points
4th-7th: 45 points
8th-12th: 40 points
13th-25th: 25 points
26th-35th: 15 points
36th-50th: 5 points

Day 3 – December 22
During the third and final day of the tournament, the scoring values will be greatly diminished. Each elimination will be worth only a single point and the team that gets a victory royale will receive 10 points. Teams that end the match anywhere from second to 12th position will receive points according to the table below.

1st: 10 points
2nd-3rd: 7 points
4th-7th: 5 points
8th-12th: 3 points

The prizes for this tournament are varied and differ based on the region as well as the platform that players are participating on. The largest prize pool is reserved for the EU servers, where first-place winners across all platforms will collect $9,000. The top prize for the NA East server is $8,000 for all platforms except mobile, which is $6,500.

Anybody who wishes to can participate in this tournament. A public playlist is available and everyone can join.

The Winter Royale Duos 2019 tournament enforces all of the usual Epic rules. All participants must be at least 13 years old, enable 2FA and agree to the standard Epic Games terms of service. Players may only participate in 15 matches per session and each session will be approximately four hours long.

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The news was confirmed in a statement on Fortnite’s official website last Thursday that read: “Winter Royale is back in 2019 and bigger than ever! Three separate Duos tournaments on three different days in December with $5M prize pools each day.”

SEE ALSO: FORTNITE ESPORTS BETTING

It was also revealed all server regions will be able to take part in the platform-specific duo tournaments. Furthermore, Epic Games invited any player, regardless of their rank, to jump into the arena for a chance to claim a slice of the mouth-watering prize pool.

The Winter Royale will feature three separate days of duos tournaments between December 20-22, each with $5 million in prize money. While it will be spread out over several regions and platforms, the $15 million kitty is a huge jump from 2018 event and its $1 million pool.

Last year’s Winter Royale saw Nolan “Nolan” Sinutko triumph in the North American event, with Thomas “72hrs” Mulligan claiming second and Tyler “Tyler15” Crews third place. The European tournament ended with Clément “Skite” Danglot claiming gold, with Jordan “Tuckz” Tucker in second place and Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie in third.

The trio from each region split roughly 1/3 of the whole prize pool, with the winner taking home $75,000, runner-up $50,000 and $45,000 reserved for the third-placed player.

MORE: FORTNITE BATTLE ROYALE NEWS

A lot has changed since the inaugural Winter Royale tournament. For one, the format has switched from solo play to duo teams. Another significant change is the scoring system, which used to award one point per three or four eliminations and now awards one point per elimination.

With a massive prize pool, the Winter Royale is expected to feature the cream of the crop. That said, many of the duos who competed at the 2019 Fortnite World Cup are no longer playing together, which means we could see some exciting new combinations.

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