Epic Games To Be Bought By Legendary Pictures?

It seems the film financier feels the renowned Gears of War developer is a tasty morsel indeed.

Citing “multiple sources close to the companies,” Variety reports this week negotiations are currently underway for Legendary Pictures to acquire Epic Games. Legendary previously signed on to co-finance the forthcoming Gears of War film, but it appears it has more than a passing interest in the successful video game developer.

“We have publicly announced that Epic and Legendary are partnering on the Gears of War movie. We’re very excited about that project and have the highest regard for (Legendary founder) Thomas Tull and his organization,” said Epic in a statement published today in the Triangle Business Journal. Neither company has commented regarding the reported purchase negotiations. Coincidentally, Tull recently resigned from the board of Brash Entertainment, a video game publisher he co-founded.

Legendary provided financing for this year’s blockbuster The Dark Knight. The purchase, if it goes through, would make Legendary the first film financing company to throw money into videogames. With the solid Unreal Engine under its belt and Gears of War 2 set to ship, Epic would be a prize purchase for the company.

Epic had no comment about the rumor when contacted by The Escapist.