Fortnite is owned by Epic Games, the private company that develops and runs it, and Epic is controlled by its founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney. Tencent, Disney, Sony and KIRKBI, the holding company of the family behind LEGO, own minority stakes in Epic. None of them owns Fortnite separately.
Epic has never published a full shareholder list. What’s public is a set of funding announcements, one old Tencent filing and some press reports, and they don’t all agree. Here’s what each one actually supports.
Who owns Epic Games, and how much?
| Shareholder | How it got in | Stake | How solid is that? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Sweeney | Founded the company in 1991 | Controlling; exact % undisclosed | Epic statement, April 2022 |
| Tencent | About $330 million in 2012 | About 40% in 2012; lower now | Tencent’s 2012 report; current figure undisclosed |
| Disney | $1.5 billion, 2024 | About 8% | Disney fiscal 2024 10-K (Nov. 2024) |
| Sony | $250M (2020), $200M (2021), $1B (2022) | Undisclosed | Amounts announced by Epic and Sony |
| KIRKBI | $1 billion in April 2022 | Undisclosed | Epic announcement |
When Sony and KIRKBI put in $2 billion in April 2022, valuing Epic at $31.5 billion, Epic said the company “remains controlled by its CEO and founder, Tim Sweeney” and has a single class of common stock. Other holders include investment funds; Reuters reported in February 2024 that mutual funds at Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and BlackRock carry Epic stakes.
Who owns 40% of Fortnite?
That’s Tencent, though the number is out of date. Tencent paid about $330 million in 2012 for 48.4% of Epic’s shares, according to its 2012 financial report, which reports at the time equated to about 40% of Epic once stock options were counted. It’s a stake in Epic, not a direct share of Fortnite, which didn’t launch until 2017.
Epic has sold a lot of new stock since then, so Tencent’s share has shrunk. Neither company has published a current figure. Figures you’ll see online, such as 28%, don’t trace back to Epic or Tencent.
Tencent’s influence has narrowed too. In December 2024, the U.S. Justice Department said two Tencent-appointed directors had left Epic’s board and Tencent had given up its right to appoint directors on its own, because Tencent also owns rival Riot Games. Tencent stayed on as a minority shareholder. In March 2026, Reuters, citing the Financial Times, reported the Trump administration was debating whether Tencent should be allowed to keep its stakes in Epic and other game companies. As of late October 2026, I found no public decision.
Does Disney own 9% of Fortnite?
Close, but Disney’s own filing says 8%, and it’s a stake in Epic, not Fortnite. Disney announced a $1.5 billion equity investment on Feb. 7, 2024, tied to a Disney universe connected to Fortnite (Disney and Epic Games). Its fiscal 2024 annual report lists an 8% interest in Epic valued at $1.5 billion as of Sept. 28, 2024 (Disney Form 10-K, Nov. 2024).
The 9% figure came from early press reports (Reuters, relaying The Information, Feb. 2024), which also valued Epic at $22.5 billion. Disney’s disclosed 8% for $1.5 billion implies about $18.75 billion, so treat the $22.5 billion as a reported number, not a disclosed one.
Is Tim Sweeney still the owner of Fortnite?
Yes. Sweeney founded the company in 1991 as Potomac Computer Systems, and it’s now headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, according to Epic. He’s still CEO, and nothing Epic has announced since its 2022 control statement says otherwise.
He’s also the public face of Epic’s long fight with Apple over App Store rules. For the other side’s framing, see Apple’s core values.
How rich is the CEO of Fortnite?
Forbes put Sweeney’s real-time net worth at $4.2 billion as of October 8, 2026. For context, Forbes had him at $7.4 billion in April 2021, when Epic raised money at a $28.7 billion valuation. The gap most likely reflects the lower valuation reported in the 2024 Disney deal.
Can you buy Epic Games stock?
Not directly. Epic is private and has no public listing. The closest you can get is owning shares in public companies with Epic stakes, such as Disney, Sony or Tencent, or in the mutual funds that hold Epic shares. In each case, Epic is a small slice of a much bigger business.
Fortnite itself is free to play and makes its money from in-game purchases, a model similar to the one in our breakdown of how Royal Kingdom makes money.
FAQ
Who made Fortnite?
Epic Games made Fortnite and has owned it since launch in 2017. There’s no “old owner” in the sense of a sale. The confusion usually comes from Tencent’s 2012 investment, which bought a minority stake in Epic five years before Fortnite came out, not a share of the game itself.
Does Tencent control Fortnite?
No. Tencent is a minority shareholder in Epic, and Epic says Sweeney controls the company. Since December 2024, Tencent also no longer has its own appointed directors on Epic’s board or the right to name new ones unilaterally, after the U.S. Justice Department raised antitrust concerns.
Does Microsoft own Fortnite?
No. Microsoft bought the Gears of War franchise from Epic, and Epic’s own site says Microsoft now owns that series. Fortnite stayed with Epic. The mix-up likely comes from Gears of War being one of Epic’s best-known games before Fortnite.