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.”
Characters
from
The
Incredibles
joined
Fortnite
last
week.Image:
Epic
Games
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.”
(Originally posted by Jay Peters)
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