Epic Games Receives $2 Billion in Funding from Sony, KIRKBI to “Build the Metaverse”

Epic Games has announced a new round of funding dedicating to advancing “the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth.” The investments come from Sony Group Corporation and KIKBI, the latter being the holding company for The LEGO Group. Each has invested $1 billion, resulting in a total of $2 billion for Epic Games whose post-money equity valuation stands at $31.5 billion.

Sony Group CEO and president Kenichiro Yoshida said, “As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time. We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”

KIRKBI CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen added that, “Epic Games is known for building playful and creative experiences and empowering creators large and small. A proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in. This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse.”

Finally, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney talked about finding partners to share its vision for reimagining “the future of entertainment and play.” “This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences and creators can build a community and thrive.”

The investment’s closing is still subject to approvals from regulatory bodies and other closing conditions. But this isn’t the first time that Sony has provided funding for Epic Games. In July 2020, it invested $250 million towards creating a “more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators.” In April 2021, it invested an additional $200 million which built on the “already close relationship” between both companies.

With how much has been invested into the purpose of building and maintaining Epic’s metaverse, it will be interesting to see how the trend develops in the future.