Epic Games announced Monday that it has received $ 1 billion each from existing investors Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the family investment company behind The LEGO Group. Following the approval of the agreement by the regulators, Epic’s share capital value after money amounts to $ 31.5 billion. The new funding will be used to build Epic’s vision for metaverse and to support its continued development, according to a statement. Epic said it was trying to create new “social entertainment” by exploring the connection between the digital and the physical world. “As a creative entertainment company, we are excited to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the post-universe space, a space where creators and users share their time,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation. Sony’s involvement in the round extends to $ 250 million in cash inflows for Epic in 2020 and another $ 200 million a year later. Epic ‘s accrued funds are intended for the developer’s job to create “three – dimensional real – time social experiences that bring games, movies and music together”, CEO Tim Sweeney was quoted as saying at the time. As funds flow, questions arise as to how the developer will best try to monetize his efforts in a world seemingly designed for decentralization and individual ownership of digital data. This does not mean LEGO in Fortnite, but Epic Games is working with them to create a “Digital Experience” and with references to metaverse, it does not rule out any connection to Fortnite 👀 – T5G (@ Top5Gamingx) April 7, 2022 “What they have built with Fortnite is what they call a meta-system, but I would say it is a closed ecosystem, where they rely on foreign investment and deal with big copyrights, instead of a more open web3 metaverse,” said the director. of Lost Relics and Codebit Labs, Cliff Cawley. “It seems that some companies are just using the term metaverse as another marketing term to ensure that their balance sheets remain profitable for themselves,” Cawley added. Fortnite is an extremely popular, free-to-play fighting game where 100 players are dumped on an island and do so by crafting, shooting and looting their way to first place. While the model is free to play, Epic generates significant gains through in-store in-game trading. Players can buy skins, emotes and sprays in exchange for the company’s currency in the game called V-Bucks, which in turn is purchased using fiat. These are the V-Bucks that Epic uses to transfer much of its profits. In 2018, the company generated $ 5.5 billion in gross revenue from the Fortnite title and another $ 3.7 billion the following year, according to documents leaked from last year’s Apple test against Epic Games. “It would be almost impossible for Epic to smoothly port Fortnite into a Web3 game,” said Simon Kertonogoro, CEO and founder of MyMetaverse. “Its game mechanics and revenue generation are already configured to run in Web2 mode.” Web3 refers to the idea of a decentralized Internet where data ownership is locally owned by the individual. Metaverses, meanwhile, refers to the experience people will have based on a crossroads of technologies, including virtual reality infrastructure, blockchain and Web3. Both concepts are at an early stage, but growth and significant funding have continued to push the boundaries and explore new revenue streams that collectively share the success of a particular title. While revenue models should be fragmented, some blockchain gaming developers believe that Epic’s invasion of the post-universe will help position the front and center of the budding industry. “We should definitely expect more innovation in the field as new financial models are introduced,” Brian Akaka, CMO of Laguna Games, the developer behind the upcoming NFT Crypto Unicorns title, told Blockworks. “It’s important for game developers to incorporate the new mechanics as a physical part of the game, rather than treating it as an add-on.” Kertonogoro believes that Epic is ready to take advantage of a whole new title that focuses on the idea of monetizing in-game assets that give players the option to share the profits from Epic sales. “I think Tim Sweeney and Epic Games, in general, are smart enough to know that, in the end, the best solution for players will always win,” he said. Epic continues to distribute only one class of common stock in circulation and remains under the control of its CEO and founder. Receive the top news and information on the day’s cryptocurrencies delivered to your inbox every afternoon. Subscribe now to the free Blockworks newsletter.
Sebastian Sinclair Pieces Senior Reporter, Asia News Desk Sebastian Sinclair is a senior news reporter for Blockworks based in Southeast Asia. He has experience in covering the encryption market as well as in certain developments affecting the industry, including regulations, business and mergers and acquisitions. He does not currently own cryptocurrencies. Contact Sebastian via email at [email protected]
Pieces Senior Reporter, Asia News Desk Sebastian Sinclair is a senior news reporter for Blockworks based in Southeast Asia. He has experience in covering the encryption market as well as in certain developments affecting the industry, including regulations, business and mergers and acquisitions. He does not currently own cryptocurrencies. Contact Sebastian via email at [email protected]
