Epic Games announced that Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the parent company of The LEGO Group, has invested $1 billion dollars each “to advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse.” Sony Group Corporation is an existing investor in Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite and the Epic Games store.
Sony Group Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in a statement included in the announcement that the intention was “to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field.” He noted that the initiative involved Epic’s game engine and Sony’s technologies in an effort to bring about “new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”
Announcing a $2 billion funding round with Sony and KIRKBI to build the future of digital entertainment. https://t.co/V0bcFftNkg
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) April 11, 2022
Around one year earlier, Sony already invested $200 million in the Epic Games metaverse, contributing to a $1 billion round of funding alongside other investment parties. The funding was meant to help with Epic Games push to build connected social experiences within its portfolio as a games publisher, including Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys.
Additionally, just a few days earlier, Epic Games announced that they and The LEGO Group entered “a long-term partnership” for the company’s metaverse initiative.
According to Crunchbase, Epic Games had already raised a staggering $5.1 billion in funding from 35 investors across 11 funding rounds. In their most recent announcement of the additional $2 billion in funding, Epic Games reported their current valuation to be $31.5 billion.