Epic + Disney push engagement

Epic Games is trying to fix a Fortnite slowdown with Disney characters, not just with another season update. Bloomberg reported on April 10 that Epic is aiming to ship its first Disney game in November 2026, and the project is described internally as an extraction shooter. (bloomberg.com, polygon.com) An extraction shooter is a game where players grab loot, survive a fight, and reach an exit before they lose everything. Bloomberg said Epic’s version would use Disney characters fighting enemies until they reach an extraction point. (polygon.com, ign.com) That plan comes after Epic admitted Fortnite had a bad year. On March 24, Epic said it was laying off more than 1,000 employees because a downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 left the company “spending significantly more than we’re making.” (epicgames.com, bloomberg.com) Epic is also shutting down or winding back several newer modes instead of pretending every experiment worked. Bloomberg reported that Fortnite Ballistic mode is scheduled to shut down on April 16, 2026, Fortnite Festival Battle Stage is being closed, and Rocket Racing is set to go offline in October 2026. (bloomberg.com) Disney has been moving toward this for more than two years. On February 7, 2024, Disney said it would invest $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic and help build an “open, persistent and social universe” connected to Fortnite. (thewaltdisneycompany.com, epicgames.com) “Persistent” in this case means Disney does not just want a one-week movie tie-in skin shop. Disney and Epic said in 2024 that the project would let people play, watch, shop, and interact with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar stories inside one connected game space. (epicgames.com, thewaltdisneycompany.com) Fortnite is useful for that because it is already bigger than one game mode. Epic said in 2024 that the Disney universe would connect to Fortnite’s more than 100 million active players and creators. (epicgames.com) The creator side is a big part of the pitch. Epic said 70,000 creators published across Fortnite in 2024, 198,000 islands were available that year, and more than 70% of Fortnite players used both Epic-made games and creator-made games. (fortnite.com) Disney has already been testing smaller versions of the idea inside Fortnite instead of waiting for the full universe to arrive. In November 2025, Disney launched a Fortnite island called Disneyland Game Rush with mini-games based on Disneyland attractions and rewards tied to Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. (fortnite.com, gematsu.com) So the November 2026 shooter is not just another licensed spinoff. It looks like the first real test of whether Disney’s $1.5 billion bet can turn Fortnite from a hit game that sells costumes into a year-round place where Disney can launch games, sell digital goods, and keep fans inside one system. (thewaltdisneycompany.com, bloomberg.com)