Epic Secures $1 Billion In Funding, With Sony One Of Many Investors

Epic Games is burning through a lot of money, so naturally, it needs to bring in more. The company announced yesterday that it had raised $1 billion in funding, including $200 million from Sony, "which builds on the already close relationship between the two companies and reinforces their shared mission to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially-connected online services."

Other companies involved in the funding include some names you might be familiar with, such as Fidelity Management & Research, Franklin Templeton, T. Rowe Price Associates -- and, oddly, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. I know online teaching is a bigger deal now, but are they planning to conduct their classes in Fortnite? "Billy, stop headshotting Johnny and pay attention!"

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who remains the controlling shareholder of the company, said that the "investment will help accelerate our work around building connected social experiences in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys, while empowering game developers and creators with Unreal Engine, Epic Online Services and the Epic Games Store." Epic's ongoing legal battle with Apple was not mentioned by name, though it could fall under the auspices of "empowering game developers and creators."

The funding raised Epic's equity valuation to $28.7 billion, so burning through a few hundred million in a legal conflict is perhaps not really all that notable. Still, investments like this will help keep the ledger at least somewhat more balanced, while also making sure that Epic has even more resources to attract exclusives to its platform.