Epic Games Inc., creator of popular online video game Fortnite, said on Friday it received $1.25-billion in funding from investors, including KKR & Co Inc., Iconiq Capital and Smash Ventures.
Fortnite, a sort of hybrid of The Hunger Games and Minecraft, drops 100 people onto an island to fight each other for survival.
The tactical tournament game, whose first version was released in 2017, has been called a “game-changer in the industry” by analysts after it signed up tens of millions of users in recent months for its last-player-standing “battle royale” format.
Epic Games, which counts Tencent Music Entertainment, Walt Disney Co. and Endeavor among its minority shareholders, was estimated to be worth $4.5-billion by Jefferies Financial Group analyst Tim O’Shea in May.
Rival video game makers Activision Blizzard Inc., creator of Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. lost billions of dollars in market value earlier this year as investors took note of Fortnite’s ability to wring cash from players.
The company declined to comment on valuation and its plans to go public.