I've fallen out with Fortnite over the last couple of months. I think the last season I touched was the South Park one. It felt same-y, commercial, and it was harder and harder to get the boys together for a night. I still see the updates though and I remarked to my pals that it feels more and more like a Disney marketing machine. Seems my feelings were spot on. Cecilia D'Anastasio at Bloomberg reported on Epic banking on all this Disney IP and money to help Fortnite make a comeback.

"The company is pinning a resurgence on games it’s been developing with Walt Disney Co., which agreed to invest $1.5 billion in Epic two years ago. Epic is on track to launch the first game in its new Disney partnership in November, according to four current and former employees. It will be a shooting game along the lines of Embark Studios’ hit Arc Raiders, but with Disney characters battling enemies until they can reach an extraction point, according to the people. So far, internal reviewers have expressed concerns that the game mechanics are not very original, but some of the employees are optimistic that Epic will get it right by the launch date."

There's something about giving Buzz Lightyear a rifle that feels wrong. I suspect Disney feels the same way since the official marketing for the skin doesn't show Buzz wielding a gun at all. It's the same wrong that I felt when opening Disney+ and seeing huge banger images for Alien: Romulus and some lady dying of a disease who wants to have a bunch of sex up there with Disney classics and kids shows. It's not right.

Don't get me wrong. I love the absurdity of Fortnite's mashups. There is an undeniable humor to it. But everything doesn't belong in Fortnite.

The rumor that Epic is pursuing the new hotness genre in an extraction shooter sounds very much like Epic, given the battle royale mode of Fortnite came about the same way based off PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds success at the time.

"Other splashy new initiatives, including Epic’s mobile store and an effort to allow users to create their own games, also didn’t live up to internal expectations, according to eight current and former employees who spoke with Bloomberg. In chasing popular trends or business whims, Epic regularly released products before employees felt they would resonate with consumers..."

"Epic routinely released products in what some employees called “Version 0.5,” the people said, suggesting they were only half ready."

I'm sure this will work out swimmingly for everyone involved.

Another angle to this Disneyfication is the recent Star Wars tools the game added. Sophie McEvoy at GamesIndustry.biz:

"Epic Games and Disney have launched creation tools that allow fans to develop their own Star Wars games within Fortnite."

Why bury a franchise into the ground yourself when you can monetize the hard work of kids and developers to pile onto the mountain of content?

"To publish Star Wars islands, developers must join the Fortnite Developer Program and accept additional terms and conditions in the Creator Portal.

Publishing islands with Star Wars assets requires users to share 20% of their engagement payout with The Walt Disney Company. They must also follow Star Wars Brand Rules."

Surely everyone will follow these rules.

"In 2024, The Walt Disney Company invested $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games and announced plans for an "open, persistent, social universe" where players can "watch, shop, and engage with content, characters, and stories" from across Disney's portfolio."

I think Disney is banking on the metaverse still here.