Fortnite Maker Epic In Talks To Raise $1.7 Billion At $28 Billion Valuation

Epic Games could raise as much as $1.7 billion, which would constitute a doubling of its fundraising in the past year, Bloomberg reported.

The company, responsible for making the popular game Fortnite, would see a valuation of around $28 billion, according to Bloomberg. So far, the company has secured commitments of around $1 billion, with no final amount set.

The capital is coming from mutual funds for the most part, along with other institutional investors, many of whom are existing backers, Bloomberg reported. Investors include funds managed by Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton and T. Rowe Price Group.

Epic was founded in the 1990s by Tim Sweeney and has been responsible for numerous hit games, alongside the Unreal Engine, which is a toolset used by developers to build their games, according to Bloomberg. Sweeney sold around 40 percent stake in Epic to Tencent from China almost 10 years ago.

The company’s hugely popular recent hit Fortnite has spurred a burst in fundraising as of late. In August, the company said it had raised $1.78 billion at a valuation of $17.3 billion, Bloomberg reported. At the time, Epic set about buying up startups, including the maker of Fall Guys, a party game that has seen a boost in players since the pandemic set in.

Part of the aforementioned money is likely to go toward lawyers, as Epic is still involved in a courtroom showdown with tech giant Apple over allegations that Apple engaged in anticompetitive behavior through the fees the company demands through its App Store.

The global eSports audience represented over 495 million people as of 2020. That easily surpasses the World Series by comparison, which had the lowest ratings in history with just 9.7 million viewers for six games airing on Fox.