Epic Games - Company Profile

Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, Epic Games is a leading American interactive entertainment company. Epic Games also provides services in the field of 3D engine technology. One of the leading platforms operated by the company is Fortnite, which is ranked among the largest of its kind online gaming platform in the world. Fortnite has more than 350 million registered users and around 2.5 billion friend connections.

Another major offering from Epic Games is its Unreal Engine, which is currently being used by several of the world's leading games. It is ranked as one of the most powerful real-time 3D development tools. It is the preferred option for creators who are looking to develop photoreal videos and immersive experiences.

Some of the top games that utilize Unreal Engine include Final Fantasy VII Remake, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Yoshi's Crafted World and Valorant. Unreal Engine is also used by other industry segments such as film and television, manufacturing, automotive, architecture and simulation.

History

There are things that are born ahead of their time, a notion that applies to Epic Games. It was a visionary move on part of the founder Tim Sweeney who envisaged a major boom in video gaming and online gaming. The story of Epic Games can be traced back to 1991, when it started out as Potomac Computer Systems. At that time, it was just a home setup, based out of Tim's parents' house located in Potomac, Maryland.

The first commercial release by the company was ZZT, an action-adventure puzzle video game and game creation platform. Subsequently, the company was renamed as Epic MegaGames, Inc. When the company shifted base to Cary, it went for a simpler name as Epic Games. As of now, the company has offices in more than 40 locations globally.

Funding

Epic Games has received investments worth $6.4 billion via 11 rounds of funding. Some of the key investors include Sony Corporation, Kirkbi, NCore Ventures, Gorilla PE, DoubleDown Interactive, Luxor Capital, Altimeter, Franklin Templeton, Park West, KKR, AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Co, GIC and BlackRock.

Acquisitions

Epic Games has made a total of 18 acquisitions till date. Some of the recent acquisitions include Bandcamp, Harmonix Music Systems, Sketchfab, ArtStation, Capturing Reality, Tonic Games Group and RAD Game Tools.

Competitors

Epic Games competes with the likes of Riot Games, Rockstar Games and Activision.

About the Founder

Epic Games was founded by Tim Sweeney in 1991. He currently serves as the CEO of Epic Games. He had studied at University of Maryland, from where he did mechanical engineering. However, his primary interest was always in computers. That's what inspired him to launch his gaming startup.