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Fortnite Developer Epic Just Signed A Huge New Deal

Epic Games is now reportedly worth a gargantuan $15 billion.

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Fortnite developer Epic Games announced today that it has secured $1.25 billion in funding from a number of venture capital companies. Not only that, but with the new round of funding, WSJ reports that Epic Games, which is based in Cary, North Carolina, is now valued at a massive $15 billion.

The new round of funding at Epic came from seven different companies: KKR, ICONIQ Capital, Smash Ventures, aXiomatic, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

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According to Epic, "This investment creates powerful partnerships with highly strategic investment firms and individuals at the forefront of technology, entertainment, professional sports, esports, and live events."

The seven new companies join Tencent, Disney, and Endeavor, all of which previously invested in Epic Games at various funding levels. Tencent paid a reported $330 million for a 48% controlling interest in Epic Games back in 2013. Even with all the new investment, Epic has retained ownership of itself, and continues to be controlled by founder and CEO Tim Sweeney.

"We're excited to partner with the finest minds in the financial, sports, and entertainment communities. This reinforces Epic's position of leadership in real-time 3D technology, and accelerates our ability to improve the way people play, work, and interact with the world," Sweeney said in a statement.

It's not immediately clear where the $1.25 billion in new funding will go at Epic, but sources told WSJ "not all of the money is going directly to the company. A portion of that amount represents shares being sold by existing stakeholders who are cashing out some of their investment."

Epic has always been a big name in the video game industry. It created the Gears of War franchise and worked on every major entry until Epic sold the series to Microsoft after Gears of War 3. Epic's profile has been dramatically increased of late after the gargantuan and ongoing success of Fortnite. The other major part of Epic's business is the Unreal Engine, the ubiquitous game engine that it licenses to developers around the world.

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