Fortnite maker Epic Games worth $17.3B after new round of funding
Funding includes a $250 million strategic investment from Sony Corp.
Epic Games, the developer behind the popular video game "Fortnite," is worth $17.3 billion after its latest round of funding.
The North Carolina-based software developer and publisher founded in 1991 announced a $1.78 billion round of funding Wednesday consisting of primary capital and employee equity holder purchases, according to a statement.
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"Having the support of leaders in the financial community accelerates Epic’s efforts to build a new kind of digital ecosystem using real-time 3D technology, services that connect hundreds of millions of people, and a digital storefront that offers a fair business model," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement.
The funding includes a previously known $250 million strategic investment from Sony Corp., which said on Tuesday that its profits for April through June increased 53 percent as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions kept more people at home, resulting in more video game use.
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The Tokyo-based company reported a $2.2 billion profit for the first quarter of 2020, up from about $1.3 billion in 2019.
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Other investment partners include Baillie Gifford, BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., and David Tepper, the company said in a press release.
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"Fortnite" is one of the world's most popular video games with more than 350 million accounts. Epic also operates Unreal Engine, a 3D creation tool for developers.