• by Colin Kirkland , October 29, 2024

Before Disney unveils its "expansive and open games entertainment universe" on Fortnite, the company has decided to launch another experience in the popular metaverse game called “ESPN Football Island.”

As part of its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games -- the owner and creator of Fortnite -- Disney is looking to gamify ESPN for a younger generation of sports fans, ultimately reinventing the network’s slogan: “serving sports fans anytime, anywhere.”

The interactive digital world, ESPN Football Island, invites Fortnite players to partake in activities, challenges, mini-games, and a “Payload Push” take on football gameplay called “Touchdown Rush,” where players have to try and guard a football from challengers on the way to an end zone.

Players will be welcomed to the island by SportsCenter anchors Randy Scott and Gary Striewski, while SportsCenter and NHL content host Arda Öcal will announce gameplay throughout the rest of the island experience.

The island was designed using Epic's Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), which Disney says will eventually power its future Fortnite universe in which consumers can “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.”

In the coming weeks, ESPN Football Island will receive regular updates as a way to “celebrate the biggest moments and games this football season,” according to Disney.

This includes promo reels and live ESPN News Ticker updates on players' screens.

In addition,, the island will feature its own unlockable cosmetics that will be exclusive to the Disney-branded experience.