Disney+ Set to Become Metaverse Platform

Disney already boasts an enormous, growing library of intellectual property — but now, the company is working on its own metaverse.

CEO Bob Chapek said during last week’s earnings call that “our efforts to date are merely a prologue to a time when we’ll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely,” allowing for “storytelling without boundaries in our own Disney metaverse.”

Chapek elaborated in an interview with CNBC, saying, “My vision is to use Disney+ as the platform for the metaverse.”

The company has been active in using its characters and narratives in video games, providing a base to build from should it join Meta, Microsoft, Epic, and Roblox in incorporating gaming into its planned metaverse.

• Disney has worked with Epic Games to bring characters from “Star Wars” to “Fortnite.”
• It collaborated with game studio Rare to add “Pirates of the Caribbean” content to the “Sea of Thieves” franchise.
• Square Enix recently released “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avengers” games.

If Disney envisions sports content in its metaverse, ESPN holds a plethora of sports media rights — from the major U.S. leagues to La Liga — for The Mouse to work with.

Disney+ and ESPN+ each grew their subscriber bases more than 60% year-over-year to 118.1 million and 17.1 million respectively in the latest fiscal quarter.