Recently, The Walt Disney Company announced its plans to invest $1.5 billion in Epic Games, the famous game developer behind the popular Fortnite game. The deal is considered as an attempt by Disney to dominate the emerging metaverse space. The partnership between the two companies will aim to use some of entertainment’s most iconic intellectual properties to build a large, interconnected virtual world named the “Magicverse”.

“This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement about the deal. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”

Details remain scarce on exactly what the Magicverse will look like and when fans can expect to access it. But Disney offered tantalizing hints that it would offer “a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters, and stories” from its treasure trove of beloved franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Avatar.

The concept seems to fuse elements of the popular Fortnite game, which features virtual in-game concerts and other live events, with a robust virtual economy where players can purchase outfits and other cosmetic items for their avatars. Disney’s vast lineup of iconic characters from Mickey Mouse to Iron Man hints at licensing opportunities on an unprecedented scale.

It also capitalizes on the booming popularity of Fortnite itself, which counts hundreds of millions of registered users. The free-to-play game rakes in billions of dollars annually through in-game microtransactions as players purchase skins, emotes and Battle Passes that unlock more in-game goodies. Fortnite has become an online hangout of choice for teenagers and young adults globally.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney added that the Magicverse would facilitate “an entirely new, persistent, open, and interoperable ecosystem bringing together the Disney and Fortnite communities.” Epic has already begun building out its vision of an immersive, evolving metaverse through acquisitions of companies like Bandcamp, Sketchfab and Harmonix.

For Disney, the partnership builds on previous collaborations bringing Marvel and Star Wars characters into Fortnite through limited-time game modes and virtual cosmetics. It also represents a doubling down on its metaverse ambitions after dissolving its earlier dedicated division just last year. With battle-tested experts like Epic Games now on board, the Magicverse could fulfill those next-generation dreams on a grander and rapidly advancing scale.

The Epic deal adds to Disney’s formidable war chest as media giants like Microsoft, Apple and Sony all race to stake their flags in the virtual worlds many believe will dominate entertainment and commerce in coming decades. And for legions of fans who have grown up obsessed with Jedi knights, magical kingdoms and Earth’s mightiest heroes, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into interactive realms of fantasy where the only limit may be the imagination itself.

Update 7:34 am ET: The article was updated with an added YouTube video.