Epic Games joins Disney's acceleration program

Epic Games today announced that it's been selected to join the Disney Accelerator program, which arms developers and entertainment companies with more resources and tools to bring their dreams alive.

Leading games developer Epic Games, who's responsible for acclaimed games like Unreal Tournament, Gears of War, and Paragon and the Unreal Engine 4 that powers countless games, joins 10 other diverse companies in Disney's acceleration program. The Disney Acceleration program gives partnered companies access to the "range of creative expertise and resources of The Walt Disney Company to help them develop their innovative new entertainment experiences and products," and includes a variety of companies from analytical firms to learning tool developers and the unique VR startup VOID.

"The Disney Accelerator has provided The Walt Disney Company incredible opportunities to connect with and be inspired by many talented entrepreneurs from all over the world," said Michael Abrams, Senior Vice President, Innovation, The Walt Disney Company. "This year, more than ever, we are working with companies with the potential to help define the future of media and entertainment together with Disney."

The 2017 Disney Accelerator companies include:

Ambidio: an innovative sound company that creates a continuous sound field with a sense of depth and dimension through any device with stereo speakers, bringing an immersive sound experience to everyone.

aXiomatic: a broad-based esports company built by leading sports team owners with ownership interests in esports teams and esports content distribution. The company has a majority stake in Team Liquid, a top esports team in the US and Europe with 60 pro players, coaches, and analysts competing in nine games as well as a minority stake in Super League Gaming.

Brit + Co: a digital media company that inspires, educates and entertains real women with a creative spirit. Through inspirational content, online classes, and products, Brit + Co enables their audience of over 125 million to use creativity to shape their best lives.

Epic Games: creators of Unreal Engine technology, which is used by millions of developers to ship visually stunning, high-quality games and experiences across PC, console, mobile, VR and AR platforms. Developers also choose Epic's Unreal Engine for cinematic production, visualization, design and simulation. Epic is known for creating the Unreal, Gears of War and Infinity Blade series of games, as well as newer titles such as Fortnite, Paragon and Robo Recall.

Hoodline: a local news and content discovery platform, that uses machine learning to distribute geotagged and relevant content from hundreds of media partners into websites or mobile apps. Hoodline also analyzes data sets to unlock insights for businesses and media companies.

Kahoot!: a game-based learning platform with more than 50 million monthly active users in 180 countries. Kahoot! makes it easy to create, discover, play, and share fun learning games in minutes-for any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages.

ProductionPro: a tool for storytellers and creators focused on improving creative collaboration in Film, TV, and Theatre production. ProductionPro pulls scripts, research, designs, and continuity together to empower creative decision-making.

ReplyYes: a frictionless e-commerce over mobile messaging experience: customers simply reply "YES" to buy the product and have it delivered.

Samba TV: a data and analytics company providing essential television insights by leveraging a source of real-time, opt-in viewership data across broadcast, cable TV, OTT, and digital media. Through software integrations with smart TV manufacturers, Samba recognizes content and associated viewership patterns making TV audiences more addressable and measurable while helping marketers activate cross-screen campaigns and maximize their impact.

Savioke: a robotics company that develops and deploys autonomous indoor delivery robots that work alongside people in busy environments such as hotels, logistics facilities, and high-rise apartment buildings. The company's flagship product, Relay, is an autonomous delivery robot that is already installed in dozens of hotels worldwide.

The VOID: a location-based entertainment company that fully immerses guests in virtual experiences with friends and family, engaging all of their senses. The VOID combines interactive sets, virtual reality, real-time effects, and state of the art technology to bring guests into their experience.