DISNEY
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EPIC
Senior Disney executives are reportedly divided over buying the company behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine. One founder holds every card — and he isn’t selling yet.
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Disney is reportedly split over whether to fully acquire Epic Games — the studio behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine. Technology reporter Alex Heath stated on The Town podcast that he knows “for a fact” that senior Disney executives want to buy Epic and are waiting for the right moment. Other executives inside the company believe it would be a mistake. At the centre of it all: a $1.5 billion investment Disney has already made, a Disney-themed Fortnite mode with no release date, over 1,000 Epic layoffs, and founder Tim Sweeney — who holds full voting control over the company.
This isn’t Disney’s first attempt at a major gaming acquisition. In 2023, the company was reported to be exploring a purchase of Electronic Arts, but those talks did not lead anywhere. EA has since agreed to be acquired by a separate group of investors for $55 billion. The question now is whether the Epic situation will follow the same path — or whether Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s newly appointed CEO and the internal champion of the Epic investment, will move things further. Explore the full picture below.
Disney’s $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic, announced in March 2024, made the two companies close partners. The debate being reported internally is whether Disney should go further and acquire the whole company — getting full control of Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and the Epic Games Store outright.
Key Players — Tap Any Card
Four people sit at the centre of this reported deal. Tap any card below to read the details of each person’s role.
Tap any card to read more
What’s Actually at Stake
The reported acquisition debate touches on production technology, a stalled gaming product, financial pressure at Epic, and theme park expansion. Here is what each side stands to gain or lose.
Unreal Engine is already used on The Mandalorian and other productions for virtual set technology. Owning the engine outright would give Disney full control over that production pipeline — a factor reportedly cited by deal supporters inside the company.
Announced as part of Disney’s March 2024 investment, the mode was described as a virtual park-like experience with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars content. It still has no release date. Reports indicate it will not launch before fall 2025. Tim Sweeney disputed a Wall Street Journal report claiming delays stemmed from slow Disney decision-making.
Epic laid off over 1,000 staff — close to a quarter of its workforce — citing a Fortnite engagement downturn that began in 2025, the cost of legal battles against Apple and Google, and the ongoing expense of running the Epic Games Store. Remaining employees have said they do not know what Fortnite will look like going forward.
Deal supporters inside Disney have pointed to Unreal Engine-based technology as a path to new theme park experiences built around Disney’s IP — Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney animation all map directly onto what Epic’s toolset can build.
“I know for a fact there are senior executives in Disney who want them to buy Epic and are just waiting for that moment — and then there are others who think it’s a bad idea.”
— Alex Heath, Technology Reporter, on The Town Podcast with Matthew Belloni
The Road to a Reported Deal
From Disney shutting its own game studios to a $1.5 billion equity stake and an unreleased virtual world — here is the sequence of events behind this story.
Inside Fortnite’s Expanding — and Uneven — World
Fortnite has grown well beyond battle royale, but not all modes have found the same audience. The Disney mode remains unreleased. This chart shows the relative engagement trajectory of each mode based on reported performance data.
Relative engagement index — illustrative scale based on reported performance trends, not official Epic data. Source: industry reporting
The Modes That Define the Deal
The Disney–Epic partnership is playing out across Fortnite’s different modes and tools. Select each tab below to see the current status — and why it matters to the reported acquisition story.
Battle Royale
Fortnite’s original mode and still its core revenue driver. Engagement began declining in 2025, which Epic cited as a key factor behind the 1,000+ staff layoffs. Roblox has seen substantial growth in the same period — industry reporting notes Fortnite has “fallen far behind” Roblox’s growth trajectory.
Sweeney’s plans for “the next generation of Epic with huge launch plans towards the end of the year” are widely expected to focus on this mode. The battle royale format also sits within broader platform pressures affecting publishers across the industry.
LEGO Fortnite
Launched in late 2023 alongside the Racing and Music modes, LEGO Fortnite generated strong initial interest but saw engagement fall through 2024. Epic has acknowledged difficulty retaining players outside the battle royale format. The mode continues to operate but has not recovered its launch-period momentum.
The underperformance of these modes forms part of the financial backdrop behind Epic’s layoffs, and is relevant context for Disney when assessing what acquiring the company would mean in practice.
Disney Mode (Unreleased)
Announced in March 2024 alongside Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic, this mode is described as a virtual park-like experience with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars content. Concept art shows themed areas resembling a digital theme park. Despite more than a year of development, no release date has been confirmed.
Reports indicate it will not launch before fall 2025. Tim Sweeney publicly disputed a Wall Street Journal report that attributed the delays to slow Disney decision-making. D’Amaro has previously described the mode’s launch as a major milestone for Disney. See also our coverage of other major gaming launches of 2025.
Star Wars — Unreal Editor for Fortnite
The most concrete product so far from the Disney–Epic partnership. Through the UEFN toolset, creators gained access to Star Wars assets — iconic locations, weapons, voices, and music — to build their own experiences inside Fortnite. Official publishing of creator-built Star Wars content began May 1.
This is the active foundation on which the broader Disney mode is reportedly being built — and the clearest example deal supporters inside Disney can point to when arguing for a full acquisition. See also our wider gaming coverage for context on the current landscape.
Three Obstacles Standing in the Way
For all the reported enthusiasm from some Disney executives, real barriers stand between the current situation and an actual acquisition. Here are the three that matter most.
Epic is a founder-controlled company. Sweeney holds complete voting stock control and can make unilateral decisions. Heath described Sweeney’s approach to the Apple and Google battles as “almost an ideological crusade” — the same independent streak that drove those fights would apply to any acquisition approach from Disney. Any deal only happens if Sweeney agrees to it.
Not all Disney executives support a full acquisition. Heath stated explicitly that while some are “just waiting for that moment,” others think it is a bad idea. Disney also explored buying EA in 2023 without closing a deal — context for how these internal discussions can end without result. The financial scale of acquiring Epic — Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and the Epic Games Store — would be substantial.
With over 1,000 staff gone — close to a quarter of the company — and remaining employees saying they do not know what Fortnite will look like going forward, Epic is in a period of transition. Disney’s executives are reportedly watching market conditions closely before committing. This caution also reflects wider industry hesitation around major studio commitments.
“I think Epic or some other video game asset would be a great addition to The Walt Disney Company’s asset base.”
— Kevin Mayer, Former Disney & TikTok Executive, speaking to CNBCWhere Things Stand
The reported internal debate at Disney over a full acquisition of Epic Games has been documented through first-hand accounts from technology reporter Alex Heath and former Disney executive Kevin Mayer. Disney’s $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic, the announced but unreleased Disney Fortnite mode, Epic’s 1,000+ layoffs, and Josh D’Amaro’s appointment as CEO have all featured in the discussion. The failed 2023 Disney–EA acquisition talks were noted as relevant background by the same sources.
Tim Sweeney’s full voting control over Epic remains the central structural factor in whether any deal proceeds. No acquisition has been announced. The Disney-themed Fortnite mode, announced in March 2024, was still without a confirmed release date at the time of reporting. Star Wars UEFN tools opened for Fortnite creators on May 1. Epic’s broader plans for its “next generation” were outlined by Sweeney in his layoff email.
For more gaming news, read our coverage of Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Season 3, Life is Strange: Reunion, and Sony’s PS5 price changes across global markets.