Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Denies Disney x Fortnite Delay Rumors, Slams WSJ Report

By Zamal Uddin | August 6, 2025

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has strongly refuted a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claiming that the highly anticipated Disney x Fortnite collaboration, internally known as Project Bulldog, has been delayed to 2026 due to Disney’s slow decision-making process.

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🚨 WSJ Report Claims Fortnite’s Biggest Collaboration Faces Delay

On August 3, 2025, WSJ published an article citing anonymous sources alleging that the upcoming Fortnite x Disney project had been pushed to 2026. The report claimed that Disney’s “slow pace of approvals,” requiring sign-offs from multiple divisions, caused the delay.

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💬 Tim Sweeney Fires Back on X

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on August 4, Sweeney slammed the report, stating:

“The anonymous quote is BS. The speed of Disney and Epic collaborations like Darth Vader has been awesome and is around 10x the ordinary speed of media company dealings. We even provided a statement to the writer of this article saying so, but they chose not to print it.”

Sweeney emphasized that Disney and Epic have historically collaborated efficiently, citing past successful integrations of Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar franchises into Fortnite.

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🎮 What We Know About Project Bulldog

• Announced: February 2024

• Investment: $1.5 billion from Disney into Epic Games

• Concept: A Disneyland-inspired Fortnite mode

• Leads: Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Josh D’Amaro

• Launch Window: Fall 2026 (not denied by Sweeney)

Recent reports also confirm that Disney executives, including D’Amaro, visited Epic Games’ North Carolina headquarters last month, suggesting active progress on the project.

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🔥 Past Disney x Fortnite Collabs Show Speedy Execution

Epic Games has a strong track record of fast-tracked collaborations. For example:

• Fantastic Four skins and cosmetics were released on July 25, 2025, the same day as the movie premiere.

• Multiple crossovers featuring Marvel superheroes, Star Wars characters, and Pixar animations were seamlessly integrated without major delays.

This history strengthens Sweeney’s claim that the WSJ’s narrative doesn’t align with Disney and Epic’s proven collaborative speed.

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🎯 Fortnite’s Current Popularity

Despite rumors, Fortnite remains one of the world’s most active battle royale games, boasting:

• 24-hour peak: 1,598,655 concurrent players

• All-time peak: 14,343,880 users across platforms

The upcoming Disney collaboration is expected to be the largest Fortnite expansion yet, blending the worlds of Disney Parks, Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar in an unprecedented in-game experience.

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📌 Key Takeaways

• Tim Sweeney denies WSJ report about Project Bulldog delays

• Confirms Disney x Fortnite collab is progressing as planned

• Launch still expected in Fall 2026

• Epic Games’ past Disney crossovers show fast execution

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• Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney

• Disney x Fortnite collaboration

• Fortnite Project Bulldog delay rumors

• Fortnite Disney partnership

• WSJ Fortnite news August 2025