Disney received a stock boost after talking about Fortnite and Taylor Swift
The Epic Universe: The new universe of video games in the 2022 Lego era and the launch of the Lego Fortnite metaverse and Rocket League
Iger said after learning the demographic of video games and how much time consumers play them, he had to be there as soon as possible. The Epic partnership will allow consumers to play and create games based on content and characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.
In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more. Players, gamers, and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content with each other in ways that they love. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.
That seems like a lot of the same thing as the recent Lego collaboration. In 2022, Epic received a $2 billion investment — which was split between Sony and KIRKBI, an investment company helmed by the family behind Lego — which resulted in the launch of the survival game Lego Fortnite earlier this year. That launch was part of a new era for Fortnite, as Epic made a major push to expand beyond the game’s battle royale roots, turning it into a platform for other kinds of games and experiences. The creators of Rock Band and Rocket League were behind the gameRocket Racing which was put out along with Lego Fortnite.
It is unclear when the metaverse will launch, but the collaboration has already yielded a curious announcement: there will be an update for Rocket League that will include a Grogu car top.
The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) Film at Disney+ and Its Streaming-On-Distribution Demise
The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) concert film will head to Disney+, in an exclusive streaming debut, on March 15. Iger says “cardigan” was not included in the theatrical or digital purchase release of the film.
The original Moana was the “most streamed movie on any platform in the U.S.” in 2023, according to Iger. As a result, he says a feature length animated sequel will get a theatrical release in November, “This was originally developed as a series, but we were impressed with what we saw and we knew it deserved a theatrical release.”
The NBA, NASCAR, college sports, Grand Slam Tennis, and more would be included in the proposed one-stop shop for online sports, which would be created by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FOX. NPR’s Eric Deggans compares it to the creation of Hulu by different TV networks back in 2007. Deggans says the platform will allow them to control how live sports migrate to streaming. And it’s going to help them compete with rivals like Amazon and Netflix, who have the financial resources of Silicon Valley.”
