Epic Games, the gaming company behind the megahit “Fortnite,” said on Tuesday it had raised $1 billion in its latest funding round — pushing the company’s valuation up to $28.7 billion, a 60% increase since just last summer.
Sony Group contributed $200 million as part of the latest round, adding to the $250 million the Japanese conglomerate invested in the company last year. (Epic was valued at about $17.9 billion at the time Sony invested last year.) Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, and Fidelity Management & Research were also included in Epic’s latest round of financing, as well as investments from firms like BlackRock and Luxor Capital.
After its latest round, privately held Epic has now raised about $4 billion in the last three years.
“We are grateful to our new and existing investors who support our vision for Epic and the Metaverse,” Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said in a statement. “Their investment will help accelerate our work around building connected social experiences in Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys, while empowering game developers and creators with Unreal Engine, Epic Online Services and the Epic Games Store.”
Epic, which is based in North Carolina, has been around since 1991. Beyond “Fortnite,” the wildly popular game first released in 2017, Epic has also been behind the “Gears of War” franchise and the “Infinity Blade” gaming series.
Sony Group President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida added in a statement: “Epic continues to deliver revolutionary experiences through their array of cutting edge technologies that support creators in gaming and across the digital entertainment industry. We are excited to strengthen our collaboration to bring new entertainment experiences to people around the world. I strongly believe that this aligns with our purpose to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology.”
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