The gaming industry is worth billions of dollars, and it will not stop anytime soon, with new brands popping up each day.
One of the very popular video game and software developer companies is Epic Games, based in North Carolina. They own one of the most popular games in the world, Fortnite.
Since they are quite big and have many players playing their games, you might wonder who owns this company and if you can own a piece of it. Let’s take a look at who owns Epic Games.
Who Owns Epic Games?
Epic Games is a private company, which means it’s not publicly traded. Only accredited or institutional investors or those who are qualified to trade private stock can own Epic Games.
Even for that, you would need millions of dollars and a shareholder who is willing to sell their stock.
At the time, the majority of Epic Games is owned by two entities, Time Sweeney, the founder, and the Chinese gaming company Tencent.
However, Sony and Kirkbi also own a considerable amount.
| Name | % of Shares |
|---|---|
| Tim Sweeney | 50% |
| Tencent | 40% |
| Sony | 4.9% |
| Kirkbi | 3% |
| Others | 2.1% |
Tencent first acquired 48% of Epic Games in exchange for their help in developing new games for Epic Games.
Then they issued share capital which reduced their total % of shares to 40%, and it still stood the same ever since.
They bought a 48% stake for $330 million in 2012. The other owners include institutional investors, mostly those who invested in Epic Games through investment rounds since they were founded.
Epic Games History
Epic Games is a video game and software development company based in the United States. Tim Sweeney founded the company Potomac Computer System in 1991 in his parents’ house.
They released their first commercial video game the same year, and they changed their name to Epic Mega Games the following year.
It became Epic Games only in 1998, and it also developed its own game engine, Unreal Engine.
It is available to everyone on the market, and they use it for their own games, too, like Fortnite.
Unreal Engine was named the “most successful video game engine” after its successful development.
The company owned several other brands and gaming companies over the years and had many different investment rounds to sustain its new games and continue to acquire competitors. As of 2022, Epic Games is valued at $32 billion, with over 2,200 employees.
Who is Tim Sweeney?
Tim Sweeney is the founder and current sitting CEO of Epic Games. He is an American video game developer, programmer, and businessman.
He was always interested in technology and started Potomac Computer Systems from his parent’s garage.
He shelved the company at first, but then, when he developed his first game ZZT, he reactivated it and changed its name.
He later even developed his own Engine, Unreal Engine, and the Engine got extremely successful, helping the brand. Now, that company is known as Epic Games.
Since Epic Games never went public, he never had to sell most of his stake in the company apart from during the investment rounds.
He is still the CEO of Epic Games and owns 50% of the shares of the company.
What is Tencent?
Tencent is a Chinese multinational entertainment conglomerate holding company.
They are one of the highest revenue-making multimedia companies and the world’s largest video game company.
Their division Tencent Games invests in companies and focuses on publishing games for the video game industry.
They own Riot Games, which made League of Legends. It’s one of the most popular games in the world.
They invested in Epic Games in 2012 and acquired a minority stake at the time.
That stake was worth 48% of all shares at the time, but later, it was reduced to 40% because they issued new shares.
Now, they are the second biggest owner in the company owning 40% of the shares.
Epic Games Popular Products
Epic Games has developed and published a lot of games since it was founded. I started with ZZT, and it moved on to a lot more different niches, industries, and games.
Here is a list of their most popular games in the industry.
| Name | Release Date | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortnite | 2018 | Epic Games | Epic Games |
| Shadow Complex | 2009 | Epic Games | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Gears of War | 2006 | Epic Games | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Infinity Blade | 2010 | Epic Games | Epic Games |
| Fall Guys | 2021 | Mediatonic | Epic Games |
As you can see, Epic Games both develops and published games. At first, they were only the developer and gave it to other studios for publishment.
Later, they became both the developer and the publisher. Later on, they developed their own store, Epic Games store.
Now they can use the Epic Games store to use other developers’ games and publish them in their name.
Conclusion
Epic Games is a massive gaming development and publishing company based in the United States.
They were founded in 1991 and quickly grew to publish many games, acquiring their competitors and receiving investments.
They are a private company owned mostly by two entities, Tim Sweeney, the founder, and the Chinese gaming conglomerate Tencent.
These two own about 90% combined of the entire company. The rest belong to Sony, Kirkbi, and others.
There seems to be no plan to go public, so this will most likely stay the same for a long time.
FAQ
Is Epic Games a public company?
No, Epic Games is a private company, and only accredited investors or those who can trade private stock can invest in Epic Games.
How can we buy a piece of Epic Games?
You either need to be an institutional or an accredited investor to buy a piece of Epic Games.
There is no other way to own Epic Games directly as of 2023. However, you can own it indirectly by buying Tencent’s stock which owns 40% of the company.
Who are the majority owners of Epic Games?
The two majority owners are Tim Sweeney, the founder, and the Chinese gaming company Tencent. They own over 90% collectively.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-to-invest-in-epic-games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Sweeney_(game_developer)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tencent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_by_Epic_Games
https://www.igdb.com/companies/epic-games/best
Amit Gupta is an experienced expert in digital marketing and co-founder of DrFranchises. With more than 11 years of knowledge in franchise digital marketing, SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing, Amit has helped many brands achieve incredible success online. As a passionate entrepreneur and owner of 7 franchises, he continues to study franchise models, looking at costs, revenue, and profitability to guide brands toward profitable growth. When he’s not working on digital marketing, Amit enjoys spending time playing with his beloved dog.