Sony and Lego are investing $2 billion in Fortnite creator Epic Games. : NPR

Epic, the creator of Fortnite, is getting investments of $1 billion each from Sony and the company that makes Lego.

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Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Epic, the creator of Fortnite, is getting investments of $1 billion each from Sony and the company that makes Lego.

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Epic Games, creators of the wildly popular video game Fortnite, just got a $2 billion investment from legacy entertainment giants Sony Group Corp. and Kirkbi, the family-owned company behind The Lego Group. Sony and Kirkbi will each invest $1 billion in Epic.

Headquartered in Cary, N.C., Epic Games was founded by CEO Tim Sweeney in 1991. In addition to Fortnite, Epic developed the 3D game engine Unreal Engine. Today the company has some 40 offices around the world.

“This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences and creators can build a community and thrive,” Sweeney says in a statement.

More simply put, the partnership of Lego and Epic will “build a fun place for kids to play in the metaverse!” as Epic tweeted when it announced a partnership with Lego a few days ago.

For Sony the investment “will accelerate” the company’s “development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives,” says Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, president and CEO of Sony Group Corp.