Summary
The biggestDisneyevent of the year is happening this weekend and it will be streaming exclusively onFortnite. TheDisneyand Epic Games collab both confused and excited fans when it was first announced back in February, and this upcoming D23 event could revolutionize the industry and provide further insight on Disney’s new investment into the online and virtual community spaces.
Earlier this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the Walt Disney Company hadpartnered with developer Epic Games, its biggest investment into the game space to date. Since then, there have been no further updates on what the partnership means for either company, but the upcoming D23 event may have more updates on the partnership. Disney D23 is the biggest event of the year for fans and employees of the Walt Disney Company. Each year, the D23 convention is the ultimate event for news about upcoming releases, potential park updates, and other exciting news and information. This year, the event has caused some controversy due to the announcement that the highly-anticipated “parks panel,” Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, would not be livestreamed for viewers as per usual. Instead, viewers will have to watch it in an all-new way.
Rather than a widely available livestream like they have featured in years past, the Disney Horizons panel this year will bestreamed exclusively inFortnite. On August 10 starting at 7:30 p.m. PST,Fortniteplayers will be able to jump in to the “Disney Horizons Live from D23” Island to experience a special live-streamed segment of the show focused on exciting reveals for Disney andFortnite, which will start at approximately 8:30 p.m. PST. The stream will be available to watch until August 16 and will play the showcase on a loop. This marks the first time that the panel will be streamed in an existing online community and the panel could have more information on further Disney X Epic Games updates.
Disney Event Goes Virtual for First Time
This is also the first major project that the Disney andFortnitecollab has produced aside from Disney characters now being readily available for players. This new “metaverse” expansion of Disney properties includes characters from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. Players tuning in to theFortnitestream of the Horizons event can alsounlock a Peelverine back blingahead of the items release in the Item Shop.
Horizons will be hosted by Disney Parks Chairperson Josh D’Amaro and will likely include other possible updates coming to the Disney parks around the world. With recent announcements likeDeadpool and Wolverine joining the Avengers Campusesat Disneyland California and Disneyland Paris, other exciting updates could be revealed this coming weekend. In recent years, the event has gained some criticism for announcing mostly “Blue Sky” projects, or conceptual ideas for the parks rather than any concrete updates. With theFortnitestream, it may be possible that most of the panel could be focused on what fans can expect from Disney in the metaverse video game space.
