Sony Just Pumped Even More Money Into Fortnite Creator Epic Games

Alongside today's announcement that Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn will be the next character to join Fortnite's Gaming Legends series, we're also hearing the news that Sony is bolstering its relationship with Epic Games through a new, sizable investment in the company. Epic has just wrapped up another round of funding, and it seems Sony is one of the major contributors this time around. This isn't the first time that Sony has invested a significant chunk of change into the Fortnite creator, either.

As announced today, Epic has completed a $1 billion round of funding that brings its total equity valuation to $28.7 billion. More than a dozen investors contributed money to this round of funding, with Sony Group Corporation contributing a $200 million strategic investment. In its press release today, Epic said that this new investment "builds on the already close relationship between the two companies and reinforces their shared mission to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially-connected online services."

This isn't the first time Sony has invested money in Epic Games. Last summer, Sony invested $250 million into the company, and the two have apparently had a close relationship in the past, with Epic Games praising the PS5's SSD ahead of launch and even using the console to debut Unreal Engine 5.

We don't know how much of a stake Sony's total $450 million investment gives it in the company, but according to today's announcement, Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney still remains the controlling shareholder in the company.

"We are grateful to our new and existing investors who support our vision for Epic and the Metaverse," Sweeney said in today's announcement. "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."