Despite ongoing financial losses from producing low-quality slop and tarnishing their legacy with live-action remakes that consistently underperform, The Walt Disney Corporation, led by Bob Iger, is now making a substantial investment in Tencent-backed Epic Games.
The very same Epic Games who continues to bleed through its Chinese funding in a frantic bid to challenge Valve’s monopoly with its own more intrusive version, by lavishly spending money to offer consumers free games on a monthly basis alongside paying developers for timed exclusive releases on their PC storefront, a strategy universally hated by consumers.
Epic Games has faced significant legal penalties, including a $275 million fine for violating the COPPA act by harvesting data from underage individuals, as well as a $245 million fine for predatory microtransaction practices.
In addition, despite nearly six years of operation, the Epic Games Store has consistently operated at a loss, resulting in the company burning through nearly a billion dollars in its futile attempt to compete against Steam.
If you were to combine Disney’s knack for transforming cherished franchises into spectacular failures, from Marvel to Star Wars, exemplified by ventures like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. All of which incur substantial financial losses, with Epic Games’ remarkable ability to squander vast amounts of cash entirely thanks to the massive success of Fortnite, you’d have a match made in hell.
Because Disney, or rather Bob Iger himself believes that NOW is the best possible time to venture into the video game industry, right at this very moment as the whole gaming industry is dealing with constant strings of layoffs perpetrated by developers fixated on producing “cinematic” experiences over games that bring joy to players.
Their budgets have skyrocketed exponentially, with video games routinely costing well over $200 million to produce, excluding marketing expenses. Games now need to sell millions of units just to break even, and majority of them flop spectacularly, killing entire studios.
This model is no longer sustainable, and it’s widely acknowledged. The bubble is bursting, evident from the constant stream of layoffs reported weekly. From Sony to Microsoft.
But hey, now is the best time to get into video game development. Just ignore all the obvious red flags.
In a press release, Disney expressed its intention to collaborate with Epic Games to develop new games and an entertainment universe where consumers can “play, watch, shop, and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.”
In addition to the multiyear project, Disney is set to invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games. Currently, Tencent holds a 40% stake in the company. The completion of the transaction is contingent upon customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
If the goal is for Disney and Epic Games to create individual, distinct games, that’s fantastic. Because it’s likely to lead to further financial setbacks for both companies.
Currently, their main source of revenue undoubtedly stems from Fortnite. Disney likely sees an opportunity to tap into this lucrative market by incorporating Marvel and Pixar-themed content and microtransactions in the coming years.
Recently, Fortnite partnered with Lego to introduce a survival crafting game within the gaming platform, akin to Minecraft. Additionally, it launched Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game developed by Harmonix, the creators of Rock Band.
However, considering Disney’s dubious practices, this deal raises concerns for developers who rely on the “free” Unreal Engine for their projects. There’s a possibility that Epic Games could backtrack on their commitment to granting developers full control over games developed with the Unreal Engine at some undisclosed point in the future.
Given how Epic’s policy for the moment is basically so long as the game isn’t illegal it’s fair game, however with Disney soon holding an equal stake in the company rest assured that there will be ESG compliant changes made, most certainly targeting those producing adult oriented games on the Unreal Engine among other problematic themes.
But in reality, the fact that Bob Iger has only decided that video games were successful enough to embrace, just as we’re inching closer to an entire collapse pretty much sums up his dogshit leadership and lack of foresight.
Maybe we’ll even be blessed with a live action Fortnite movie, filled to the brim with affirmative action actors.
