Google discussed buying out Epic with Tencent's help to make Fortnite their "leading business driver"

Widely embraced/feared search engine business Google - hello, Google! Please top-rank our Best Of features, if you’d be so kind - considered buying outFortniteand Unreal Engine creator Epic in partnership with Tencent, according to documents revealed as part of Epic and Google’son-going legal battle over whether Epic should be able to sell stuff within the Android version of Fortnite.

Another line from the unredacted Project Elektra docs notes that Epic “may be open to a second large strategic investor as a counterweight to Tencent” but that “Tencent may not be willing to sell shares, or may seek to block another strategic investor (investor rights unknown)”. Google apparently considered spending around $20 billion to acquire a roughly 20% stake in Epic.

Their legal disagreements aside, I wonder how today’s Epic would feel about such a proposal from Google. The companylaid off around 16 per cent of their workforce this year, with Sweeney citing “unrealistic” metaverse ambitions and lower-than-hoped returns from Fortnite. The Epic Games Store, meanwhile,is yet to make a penny of profit.