KEY POINTS
Two months after Disney and Epic Games announced their collaborative metaverse plans, the Fortnite community has come up with updates. However, players’ reactions have been mixed.
Reports from active Fortnite users, known by their aliases “HYPEX” and “Shiina” on X (Twitter), indicate that Fortnite is currently undergoing playtesting for the upcoming Disney update.
In an April 29 post, Shiina mentioned that “A new playtesting version has just appeared and shows that they are already testing Build-Version 5421 of the project, which is a VERY large amount of test versions.”
HYPEX, in another post on X, noted “The full collab is set to arrive ‘in a few years’ according to Disney’s CEO, but we’ll most likely see smaller build-up updates leading to that.”
However, not all Fortnite players are excited about this metaverse plan. Some have criticized the idea, writing “Disney and Epic, when you tell them that no one cares about a metaverse and just want to play battle royale” and “We don’t want it.”
At the same time, other players are guessing what the metaverse plan might include. Some suggest a permanent Avatar-only Battle Royale/Lego mode with characters from franchises like Star Wars, among other ideas.
The collaboration between Disney and Epic Games, marked by Disney’s $1.5 billion equity stake acquisition in Epic Games, aims to establish an expansive “entertainment universe.” This virtual space would allow fans to interact with content and characters from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and more, alongside crafting their own experiences.
This partnership represents a significant step for Disney in the Web3 space. Disney’s foray into Web3 began in 2021 with a collaboration with digital collectible platform VeVe for the release of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring popular Disney characters.
Following initiatives included Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinting at Disney+ evolving into an immersive lifestyle platform and collaborations with Apple and Dapper Labs to explore virtual experiences and NFT platforms.
