Disney Gaming Expands Beyond Traditional Licensing

Disney is expanding its gaming strategy as it looks to turn its intellectual property (IP) into a major growth driver. Its games business, primarily operated through licensing partners, generated an estimated $3.5 billion USD in annual consumer spending over the past four years and exceeded $4B in the latest fiscal year (FY). Nine titles have surpassed $1B in retail sales, including games equivalent to Kingdom Hearts and Marvel.

The scale extends across Disney's portfolio.

Lucasfilm Games covers more than 20 genres, while Disney and Pixar mobile games, including Disney Tsum Tsum, Disney Solitaire, and Disney Magic Kingdoms, have collectively exceeded 1B installs since 2014. Disney’s newer gaming slate includes Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Marvel’s Wolverine. The latter is scheduled to launch on Sep 15, 2026.

Disney Gaming Strategy Expands

Disney’s partnership with Epic Games is also giving its franchises a larger presence in Fortnite. The collaboration, supported by a roughly $1.5B investment, is designed to connect Disney storytelling with creator-made content, while previous activations have demonstrated the platform’s reach. A November 2025 Simpsons event generated 780M hours played across more than 80M unique players, while an earlier Marvel event surpassed 15M concurrent players.

At D23, Disney and Square Enix revealed KINGDOM HEARTS IV, which is scheduled to launch in late 2027.

The franchise has sold more than 39M units, and the new game will feature a world influenced by Disney and Pixar's Coco. Disney also launched Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite, connecting the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with a new digital adventure in Fortnite called Smugglers Gambit. Shoptaw described it as a mission that starts at the attraction and continues after guests leave.

Disney's FY third-quarter (Q3) revenue reached $25.2B, up 7%, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 28% to $2.06. Streaming revenue increased 11%, with a 13% operating margin, and management retained its roughly 12% full-year adjusted EPS growth outlook.

Disney Gaming Faces a Different Financial Model

Sony develops and publishes games through PlayStation Studios. Warner Bros. Discovery, meanwhile, is rebuilding its gaming business around Mortal Kombat, Hogwarts Legacy, Game of Thrones, and DC/Batman after canceling Wonder Woman and closing Monolith Productions.

Disney shares are down 7.9% year-to-date, versus 6.2% for the Consumer Discretionary sector. Its forward P/E is 14.18x, compared with 15.86x for the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry. The stock has a Value Score of B, while Zacks expects fiscal 2026 EPS of $6.88, up 16.02%, and gives Disney a No. 3, or Hold, rating.

Disney has a strong gaming reach, but much of the spending generated through its games goes to licensing partners rather than directly to Disney.