By KENJI IZAWA/ Staff Writer
April 13, 2022 at 16:35 JST
The headquarters of Sony Group Corp. in Tokyo (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Sony Group Corp. said on April 12 that it will invest an additional $1 billion (125 billion yen) in Epic Games Inc., the U.S. video game developer behind the hugely popular “Fortnite” shooter.
Sony plans to accelerate collaboration with Epic Games in “metaverse,” the online virtual-reality space that is becoming the key digital environment.
Sony’s first investment in Epic Games came in July 2020. The latest investment will bring the total to $1.45 billion and give Sony a 4.9-percent stake in the company.
The parent company of the Lego Group in Denmark will also invest $1 billion in Epic Games.
Sony has already held a musical event in Fortnite featuring singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu, who is signed with a Sony company.
The Japanese company is not only working with Epic Games on games, music and movie ventures, but it is also paying attention to technologies for possible use in electric vehicle development.
In January this year, Sony Group announced that it will acquire U.S. game software development company Bungie Inc. for $3.6 billion.
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