Sony invests $250m in Epic Games to acquire a minority stake

[sales2099]

twintail said:

V-r0cK said:
I knew there had to be something.

But $250M, what can Sony get out of Epic? Free exclusive Fortnite skins? lol jk

UE5 tech is going to be incredibly important going forward. This isn't just for gaming. This is about helping all facets of Sony's business where UE5 can be applied. Don't forget that Sony has a TV division, and even PlayStation has a new TV initiative. 

sales2099 said:

It finally makes sense why Epic showed a demo for a engine Sony has little interest in actually using while the competition has several teams using it.

Don’t like the other implications either.

- Free PR in the console industry that MS would frankly have to pay for. Nothing positive can ever be said about the Xbox brand going forward. All future UE versions will only have PS PR attached to it. 

- Timed exclusivity or full exclusivity for any Epic games going forward. Exclusive Fortnight deals and bundles for PS5. 

Edit: Kinda have a sour satisfaction knowing I was right when I called the UE demo a PS deal with Epic and I was reported and banned for baiting. That Epic just picked PS5 because it was just a nice piece of tech...I’m more realistic then that. 

lol, it's incredible how petty you always are about this.

Who cares if MS has more studios using UE than Sony does. Using their engine doesn't automatically mean you have some better working relationship with Epic. It literally means that MS is more willing to use the engine. A working relationship that benefits both parties requires interaction between said parties.

And guess what? That is what Epic and Sony have had for the last 4 or so years. 

https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/epic-reveals-how-its-been-working-with-sony-for-years-on-unreal-engine-5/

A minority stake of 1.4% now, and not the 4 years working closely with another, is the only reason for Epic is talking up PS5?

Petty, indeed. 

As I said, it’s weird they are partnering when Sony has little interest in actually using the engine. The demo highlights how it takes advantage of PS5s tech...this only makes sense if they have games in development that use UE5. Which they don’t. Otherwise if the games are multi plat development goes to the common denominator (PCs without SSD). Again, why partner up of one partner couldn’t care less about the engine? 

Which leads me to believe it’s a short term PR boost and someone else long term like Epic Store exclusivity. That demo should have got Xbox gamers excited due to the actual studios that are making next gen games with UE instead the PR went in another direction. It’s fair game if you spend $250 million, so really I can’t complain beyond expressing my annoyance.