Epic Games shows off intricate details amid shadowy lighting.

How Epic Games moved closer to Sony with the design of the PlayStation 5

During an interview with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, he waxed on about the power of the PlayStation 5, which is coming this fall at the same time that Microsoft is launching the Xbox Series X. But throughout the interview, Sweeney never mentioned the Microsoft console.

I asked Sweeney, whose company makes Fortnite and the Unreal Engine game development engine, why he was focused on Sony’s machine, which ran the demo of his new Unreal Engine 5 platform coming next year.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.