Epic Games and Disney’s Rumored Extraction Shooter is Already Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The collaboration between Epic Games and Disney seems to be growing, with recent reports suggesting they’re developing a new extraction shooter game. While Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games earlier this year wasn’t a huge shock, their decision to create a game in the extraction shooter genre is a bit of a surprise.

I’m conflicted about these reports. Growing up with Disney movies creates a strong sense of nostalgia for certain franchises. However, it’s also easy to get tired of Disney, especially with their constant stream of content from Marvel, Star Wars, and endless spin-offs. Whether you love or dislike Disney’s influence on pop culture, their financial success is undeniable. Their move into the increasingly popular genre of extraction shooters is unexpected, but strategically smart. It’s going to be a challenge to pull this off successfully, and it might be harder than it looks.

Disney and Epic Games’ Rumored Extraction Shooter Has to Tread Carefully WIth Its IP

Games like ARC Raiders and Marathon are helping extraction shooters become more popular, and this genre could be the next big thing in gaming. After dominating for ten years, the battle royale craze, led by Fortnite, appears to be slowing down. Recent layoffs at Epic Games – impacting 1,000 employees – and reports of a shrinking player base suggest the company is now looking for its next hit, and extraction shooters could be the answer.

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The upcoming Disney and Epic Games shooter has access to a huge range of characters and worlds, but that’s also its main challenge. While Disney owns many popular franchises, not all of them would work well in a shooter game where players collect items and try to escape. And even the franchises that do fit the genre risk feeling stale or repetitive, especially when compared to other games based on those same stories.

Marvel and Star Wars Are the Obvious Choices, But They Already Have Plenty of Game Adaptations

An extraction shooter based on Marvel or Star Wars could be really successful. However, launching another one risks the brands competing with their own games. We’re already seeing a lot of Marvel games like Marvel Rivals, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Soldiers, and Marvel’s Wolverine. There are even more Star Wars games coming, including the Star Wars Jedi series, Star Wars Outlaws, and several projects in development like Zero Company, Galactic Racer, Eclipse, Fate of the Old Republic, and the KOTOR remake. With so many Star Wars games already planned, adding another one might be too much.

Fortnite’s Marvel and Star Wars Crossovers Leave an Extraction Shooter in a Tough Spot

Epic Games has successfully integrated Marvel and Star Wars into Fortnite, but a new extraction shooter using the same visual style might feel too similar to just another Fortnite mode. While Marvel and Star Wars have been popular additions to Fortnite, a different gameplay style won’t feel truly innovative if the game looks just like Fortnite.

Games like ARC Raiders and Marathon are becoming popular, and extraction shooters—a type of game where players collect loot and try to escape—could be the next big thing in the gaming world.

Disney’s Original IP Might Be an Even Stranger Choice for an Extraction Shooter

It feels strange to picture classic Disney characters like Belle or Mickey Mouse using guns. While crossovers with franchises like Star Wars or Marvel are common, seeing Disney’s original characters in a shooting game would be more unusual. However, Disney is very careful with its brand, so it might not allow guns to be featured in the game at all. Fortnite isn’t graphic, but Disney and Epic Games are likely having serious conversations about how to handle violence in this new game.

I imagine Disney could create a game similar to Splatoon, focusing on non-lethal weapons and giving each character unique tools from their own world. For instance, Buzz Lightyear could use his wrist laser, or Zurg’s blaster. That approach would make more sense for Disney’s characters. However, this is just my guess. Disney has been fairly open with letting its characters appear in Fortnite, so they might surprise everyone and allow guns in a future game. We’ve already seen Buzz Lightyear and Hercules skins in Fortnite, proving Disney is okay with some characters using weapons. Though, iconic characters like Mickey Mouse might be treated differently.

Epic Games and Disney Have Yet to Lift the Veil on Their Secret Extraction Shooter

A recent Bloomberg report suggests that Epic Games’ new project is more developed than many thought. The report included statements from current and former Epic employees indicating the game is currently being tested internally, and there’s a possibility it could launch as early as November. Releasing it then might not be the best strategy, given the anticipated massive impact of GTA 6‘s launch. However, Epic might be targeting a younger audience who aren’t old enough to play a mature Rockstar game, and a Disney-themed extraction shooter could be their next hit.

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2026-04-15 12:06