Senior leadership at Disney is interested in acquiring Epic Games outright, according to reporting from veteran tech journalist Alex Heath. The entertainment giant already owns a $1.5 billion stake in the company and has embedded itself deeply into Fortnite through character skins and crossovers featuring Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar properties.
Speaking on The Town podcast, Heath said Disney's top executives are biding their time before making a formal bid. "I know for a fact there are senior executives in Disney who want them to buy Epic and are just waiting for that moment," he explained, while acknowledging internal disagreement about the move.
The timing question is significant. Epic has hit rough waters recently. The company laid off 1,000 employees last week—roughly a quarter of its workforce—citing declining player engagement in Fortnite throughout 2025. Meanwhile, the publisher remains locked in an expensive legal fight with Apple and Google, and continues to pour money into the Epic Games Store as it tries to challenge Steam's dominance.
What makes Disney a natural acquirer, according to Heath, is the incoming Disney mode for Fortnite. Concept art shows a virtual Disneyland-style park with themed areas where players can explore, create, watch content, and shop. The mode has been in development for two years and is expected to launch later this year, though a Wall Street Journal report last year claimed Disney's slow decision-making was hampering progress—a claim Epic founder Tim Sweeney dismissed as "BS."
"If it ever decided to call it quits on being an independent company, Disney would be the most natural home for it," Heath said of Epic.
Leadership Transition and Gaming Ambitions
New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, who just took the role, was a key figure backing Disney's original Fortnite investment. Industry observers expect him to make aggressive moves early in his tenure, and the Disney mode launch is shaping up to be a defining moment for the company's gaming strategy.
Former Disney executive Kevin Mayer recently told CNBC that he anticipates D'Amaro pursuing "bold steps" this year to expand the company's gaming footprint. "I think Epic or some other video game asset would be a great addition to The Walt Disney Company's asset base," Mayer said.
However, the future of an acquisition hinges on one person: Tim Sweeney. As founder and controlling shareholder, Sweeney has unilateral voting power and can reject any deal. His history suggests he's unlikely to abandon Epic's independence without a compelling reason. He personally led the company's costly legal campaign against Apple and Google to open their app stores, viewing the effort as partly ideological. In announcing the layoffs, Sweeney acknowledged that this fight "cost" the company significantly.
Sweeney has signaled his intentions to rebuild. In his layoff announcement, he wrote: "We'll be kicking off the next generation of Epic with huge launch plans towards the end of the year."
Fortnite's challenges extend beyond engagement decline. The game has struggled to successfully launch new modes outside its core battle royale formula. Racing, music, and LEGO modes launched in late 2023 to initial interest but saw engagement fade. The company has repeatedly admitted difficulty convincing players that Fortnite is anything more than a battle royale shooter.
The competitive landscape has also shifted. Roblox has experienced explosive growth and now dwarfs Fortnite in player numbers, a shift that analysts point to as part of the broader challenge facing Epic.
Whether the Disney mode becomes the turnaround moment Sweeney envisions—or whether it accelerates conversations about Epic's future independence—remains to be seen. What's clear is that Disney is positioned as an interested buyer should circumstances change, while remaining deeply embedded in Epic's present through both capital and content.
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