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Located on the West edge of town in the beautiful Verona countryside, Epic is a destination in itself. The company’s campus is straight out of a fantasy novel with themed buildings that include nods to Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and more. The experience is like no other. You will be amazed at the incredible art, architecture and landscaping on this sprawling campus. Bring your walking shoes!

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Epic Games buys a huge mall for its new global HQ

Fortnite’s maker has a new map, with about a million square feet of space

by Owen S. Good

Epic Games is buying an old shopping mall — with nearly one million square feet of space — and plans to convert it into its new global headquarters by 2024.

The deal, first reported by the Triangle Business Journal , gives Epic the 980,000 square foot Cary Towne Center for $95 million. Cary Towne Center is about 2 miles from Epic’s current HQ.

Epic Games has been based in Cary, North Carolina since 1999, and has 2,200 employees in its global workforce. The company, best known for developing the Unreal Engine and Fortnite , has about two dozen subsidiaries and studios in other locations around the world, acquiring or establishing more than half of them since Fortnite Battle Royale launched at the end of 2017.

Sitting on 87 acres, Cary Towne Center, like many shopping malls in the United States, has struggled to remain open as anchor tenants have left or closed altogether thanks to shopping trends moving online. WRAL-TV of Raleigh noted that only a few stores remain open there, and much of the mall is blocked off. Its current owners picked it up in 2019 for $31 million, then got the Cary Town Council to approve its rezoning, which would permit office use, hotel rooms, and multi-family housing in addition to commercial space.

It’s unclear how much of those plans will go forward under Epic, but because of the rezoning, Epic can get started on its new campus immediately. The company said it will work with the Town of Cary on a $193 million sports and recreation center that had been planned for the site. An Epic Games spokesperson told the Triangle Business Journal that the campus would include office buildings and recreational spaces.

Privately-held Epic Games reported a $1.78 billion round of new funding in August 2020, valuing itself at $17.3 billion. The company had planned to expand its existing location in Cary, which it has owned since 2015, with a 500,000 square foot facility that would accommodate up to 2,000 employees. Those plans are off, WRAL reported.

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Epic Games Announces New Location for Company Headquarters

by Epic Games on January 6, 2021

Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”), Turnbridge Equities (“Turnbridge”) and Denali Properties (“Denali”) are pleased to announce an agreement to transfer ownership of the 980,000-square-foot and 87-acre Cary Towne Center to Epic, with the goal of converting the property into its new campus by 2024. The facilities will include both office buildings and recreational spaces, allowing Epic the flexibility to create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth.

Epic plans to commence development of its new headquarters this year and the company will continue to be based at its current location at Crossroads Boulevard in the interim. Epic has been proud to call Cary home for over 20 years and has immersed itself into the community, often hiring locally and from nearby universities as the company continues to grow and scale.

While plans for the Epic campus are still in the early phases, the company is already working with the Town of Cary on its development and exploring ways some of this property might be used by the community. Epic is grateful to the Town and its leadership for how welcoming it has been to the company over the years, and this positive relationship played a significant role in Epic’s decision to pursue a campus that secures its future in Cary for decades to come.

“We’re extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters, and we greatly appreciate the company’s recognition of Cary’s existing assets as well as the unlimited potential of the area for their growing business,” said Cary, NC Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. “We look forward to continuing to work closely and collaboratively with the Epic team as they conceptualize their new campus, and we’re honored to partner with them on this exciting new development.”

Epic, which was represented by Stephen Porterfield of Capital Associates in this transaction, is also collaborating closely with Turnbridge and Denali to ensure a smooth transition of ownership. Turnbridge and Denali acquired the Cary Towne Center mall in January 2019 in a distressed sale following the loss of three of its five anchor tenants. The firms recognized the potential to transform the space into a revitalized new development for the region, and have since invested in the successful rezoning of the property. Thanks to this investment, Epic will be able to commence development of its new headquarters this year, and begin the transformation of the property.

“Epic shares our vision for transforming Cary Towne Center into a vibrant community space. This sale is further validation of our value-driven investment strategy, and the property could not be placed in better hands,” said Jason Davis, Managing Director at Turnbridge Equities. “After years of shifting development plans for the Center, we are thrilled the space will be utilized to its full potential and turned into something the Town and community of Cary can be proud of.”

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Epic Games announces new headquarters at Cary Towne Center site

Developer plans mix of offices, stores, residences on former cary towne center site, cary looks to grow up, more on this, unc quarterback johnson out for the season with broken right leg, scottie scheffler caps off record season with fedex cup title and $25 million bonus, coco gauff loses at the u.s. open to emma navarro, ending her title defense with 19 double-faults, j'mari taylor scores three touchdowns to guide north carolina cental past alabama state 31-24, chase briscoe holds off kyle busch in southern 500 to advance to nascar cup playoffs.

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Epic Games  announces its plans for a new global headquarters. The developer has purchased an empty retail space in Cary, North Carolina, and intends to turn the area into an expansive campus.

Epic Games is most known for  Fortnite,  the ever-popular battle royale shooter. The game is currently in its fifth season, which has seen the addition of  God of War's  Kratos,  Halo 's Master Chief, and  The Mandalorian 's Din Djarin. With the season ending in a few weeks, a new  Fortnite theory may reveal what Season 6 has in store.

RELATED: Epic Games Continues Its 'Free Fortnite' Campaign As Apple Legal Battle Continues

The   studio behind  Fortnite took to Twitter to announce the purchase of the Cary Towne Center, a defunct mall. The 980,000-square-foot and 87-acre property is expected to be fully converted into Epic Games ' new headquarters by 2024. However, development on the site is expected to begin as soon as this year, with Epic detailing the acquisition on its official website.

Epic also discusses the different functions the remodeled site will have. Sitting just outside the state capital of Raleigh, the new facility will include both office buildings and recreational spaces, allowing Epic the flexibility to create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth.

Cary has been the home of Epic Games for the past 20 years, with its original Crossroads Boulevard location remaining as the development workspace until the new site is ready. Epic isn't the only game studio investing in new work spaces. Nintendo also recently invested half a million dollars into building a new headquarters for Retro Studios , the company behind the long-awaited  Metroid Prime 4 . As gaming continues to skyrocket in popularity, it's good to see major companies like Epic Games invest in their employees for the long run.

MORE: Fortnite Releases Dua Lipa Emote

Source:  Epic Games

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Epic Games To Move HQ To Cary Towne Center

Epic Games is moving its headquarters to the Cary Towne Center. The company announced the purchase of the building on Sunday. 

Epic Games says they plan to open their new campus in 2024. In a press release, Epic says the new, 980,000 square-foot facility will include both office buildings and recreational spaces, allowing Epic the flexibility to create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth.

Epic has been headquartered in Cary for over 20 years. 

“We’re extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters, and we greatly appreciate the company’s recognition of Cary’s existing assets as well as the unlimited potential of the area for their growing business,” said Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. 

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Epic games to relocate headquarters to cary towne center by 2024.

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Yesterday it was announced that Fortnite and Unreal Engine creator, Epic Games, has signed an agreement with Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties. This agreement finds Epic taking ownership of Cary Towne Center with plans to convert the property into a new campus by 2024 with offices and recreational spaces. Plans for this development are to go underway this year while Epic continues operations at its current location, Crossroads Boulevard.

Epic Games details that it is working with the Town of Cary on the development to find ways that its new headquarters can be used by the community. “We’re extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters, and we greatly appreciate the company’s recognition of Cary’s existing assets as well as the unlimited potential of the area for their growing business,” said Cary, NC Mayor Harold Weinbrecht.

Epic Games has been part of Cary's community and has hired locally and through nearby universities as it continues to grow. It looks as if it has no plans to stop that at all following its new headquarters. The development grounds find Epic with 980-thousand-square-foot and 87-acres of room to transform.

Turnbridge and Denali originally acquired Cary Towne Center mall in 2019 in which they invested in rezoning the property for new developments. “After years of shifting development plans for the Center, we are thrilled the space will be utilized to its full potential and turned into something the Town and community of Cary can be proud of.” said Jason Davis, Managing Director at Turnbridge Equities.

While Epic builds its new headquarters, the company is still in a messy and ongoing fight against Apple. Epic has also seen Sony invest in the company for $250 million and the fifth iteration of the Unreal Engine was revealed last year. Things are certainly busy!

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Fortnite maker Epic Games buys failed mall for new multimillion-square-foot headquarters

• Epic Games just purchased a failed mall outside Raleigh, North Carolina, for $95 million.
• The gaming giant plans to erect a multimillion-square-foot headquarters that could be about 18 times the size of its current base outside Raleigh. The site can accommodate up to 4.5 million square feet of new space.
• Epic has been in a standoff with Apple and Google over its installation of an in-game payment system in its blockbuster game "Fortnite" that allowed users to skirt fees charged by the tech giants.
• The deal demonstrates not only Epic's unblunted ambitions in the wake of the lawsuit but also how developers are creatively and profitably repurposing mall properties that have collapsed from a yearslong shift in consumer shopping habits and, over the past year, the pandemic. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

Epic Games, a video-gaming giant, has purchased a former mall outside Raleigh, North Carolina, for nearly $100 million, with plans to raise a multimillion-square-foot headquarters on the site.

The company closed on the parcel on December 31, according to a person with direct knowledge of the transaction. Epic announced the deal publicly on Sunday evening after an inquiry from Business Insider. 

The purchase highlights the company's ambitious growth plans despite a major rift with Silicon Valley . Over the summer, both Apple and Google pulled Epic's blockbuster "Fortnite" title from their digital stores when Epic unveiled an in-game payment system that would allow customers to make purchases directly from Epic and skirt the fees normally levied by the tech companies.

Immediately afterward, Epic launched a lawsuit against both tech giants, challenging the game's expulsion from their stores. The case is ongoing and holds major implications for Epic's business, as it could cut off Epic's marquee game from billions of devices around the globe.

In announcing the new headquarters project, Epic appears unbowed by the standoff, with the company imagining dramatic growth for its operations.

Read more: The billionaire behind 'Fortnite' repeatedly compared his company's battle with Apple to the struggle for civil rights, and said the fight is 'an act of civil disobedience'.

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The company purchased the 87-acre Cary Towne Center, a nearly 1 million-square-foot failed mall that was acquired two years ago by the developers Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties from CBL Properties, a publicly owned mall landlord that filed for bankruptcy in November .

Jason Davis, a managing director at Turnbridge, said the company and Denali then steered the property through a monthslong local rezoning process to allow up to 4.5 million square feet of mixed-use development on the site.

Elka Looks, a spokeswoman for Epic, said the company had not yet drafted detailed plans for the project. She declined to reveal whether it had hired an architect, how large the development would be, or if Epic would seek to complete the project in phases to allow the company to grow into the additional space over time. The project has the potential to be vastly larger than Epic's present headquarters, which is a short distance away in Cary, North Carolina, and totals about 250,000 square feet.

"We're still pretty early in development and don't have any plans to share just yet," Looks said in an email. "The facilities will include both office buildings and recreational spaces. We are committed to working with the Town of Cary to explore ways some of this property might be used by the community."

Read more: 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games just set an antitrust trap for Apple, and Tim Cook walked right into it.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said in a statement that he was "extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters."

"We look forward to continuing to work closely and collaboratively with the Epic team as they conceptualize their new campus," Weinbrecht said.

Looks said Epic would break ground on the project this year and anticipated relocating employees to the site by 2024.

The deal is an example of how floundering mall properties that have been upended by the pandemic and a yearslong shift in consumer spending to e-commerce are being lucratively reimagined by developers. Davis said that shortly before Turnbridge and Denali purchased the Cary Towne Center, one of its anchor tenants, JCPenney, had closed its location at the property. Within months of purchasing the property, two more anchor tenants, Sears and Macy's, dropped out, Davis said. Turnbridge and Denali subsequently cleared out much of the property's remaining stores and were going to begin razing it next month, with plans to build a mix of office, residential, retail, and hotel space on the sprawling site, Davis said.

Instead, Epic preemptively approached the group to purchase the site for $95 million, Davis said, a hefty premium on the roughly $40 million the developers paid to buy the property and prepare it for development.

"I think Epic liked this site for the very same reasons why we thought it was the perfect property to develop," Davis said. "It's minutes from downtown Raleigh, it's close to the airport, and it's one of the only critical masses of land ready to build on in one of the fastest-growing markets in the country."

Have a tip?  Contact Daniel Geiger at  [email protected] , via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 352-2884, or Twitter DM at @dangeiger79 . You can also  contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop .

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Fortnite Studio Epic Games Buys 87-Acre, 980,000 Square Foot Headquarters For $95 Million

Epic splashes out on a new corporate headquarter in Cary, North Carolina. Get all the details here.

By Eddie Makuch on January 4, 2021 at 6:14AM PST

Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced that it is moving its corporate headquarters to a new, significantly larger campus--and it sounds truly massive.

Epic has announced that it has acquired North Carolina's Cary Towne Center, a mall of sorts that was built in 1979. As with many other shopping centers around the US, a number of its big box tenants, including Sears and JCPenny, have vacated in recent years.

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The space is truly massive, coming in at 980,000 square feet, spread across 87 acres. The goal is for the new campus to open by 2024. The site will include office buildings and "recreational spaces." Epic said its ambition is to "create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth."

Construction is slated to begin in 2021. For now, Epic's employees will continue to work out of the office near Crossroads Boulevard in Cary.

In addition to its own business purposes, Epic said it is working with the town of Cary to consider ways that the property can be used by the residents of the town. "Epic is grateful to the Town and its leadership for how welcoming it has been to the company over the years, and this positive relationship played a significant role in Epic's decision to pursue a campus that secures its future in Cary for decades to come," Epic said.

The mayor of Cary, Harold Weinbrecht, said in a statement, "We're extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters, and we greatly appreciate the company’s recognition of Cary’s existing assets as well as the unlimited potential of the area for their growing business."

According to records spotted by the New Observer , Epic paid around $95 million for the property. It's acquiring it from Turnbridge Equities and Denali Partners, who themselves paid $31.5 million for it back in February 2019.

In addition to running the massively popular battle royale game Fortnite, Epic operates the Unreal Engine, which is one of the most widely used game engines. Epic also works with Lucasfilm on the technology in The Mandalorian that helps create virtual stages.

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Cary Towne Center sold to Epic Games, site will become company’s new headquarters

Tim Sweeney (Photo courtesy of Epic Games via Forbes)

by WRAL TechWire — January 4, 2021

CARY – Epic Games will turn the Cary Towne Center mall into its new headquarters in a deal announced Sunday evening.

Epic, majority owned by billionaire cofounder and CEO Tim Sweeney, has been based in Cary for nearly two decades.

The privately held company, with sales revenue soaring due in large part to the global success of the game Fortnite, said it plans to create a new corporate campus at the mall site by 2024.

Fortnite’s success has helped make Epic worth more than $17 billion, according to estimates by Bloomberg news and other firms that track privately-held companies.

Epic, which was formed in 1991, is buying the property from Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties, which had acquired the property in 2019. The deal is worth $95 million, according to The Triangle Business Journal. The mall was sold after losing three of its anchor tenants.

Turnbridge and Denali had already unveiled plans to redevelop the property, which it bought for $31 million. Because of rezoning and other moves made by those firms, Epic said it was in position to move forward quickly with this project “this year.”

Epic has over 2,200 employees across 35 offices worldwide.

In October 2019, it announced plans to expand its HQ to accommodate up to 2,000 employees. The plans include adding a 450,000- to 500,000-square-foot facility on its campus at the corner of Crossroads Boulevard and Jones Franklin Road, a property that Epic has owned since 2015.

The mall is nearly 1 million square feet in size, and the property covers 87 acres.

“Epic shares our vision for transforming Cary Towne Center into a vibrant community space. This sale is further validation of our value-driven investment strategy, and the property could not be placed in better hands,” said Jason Davis, Managing Director at Turnbridge Equities, in a statement. “After years of shifting development plans for the Center, we are thrilled the space will be utilized to its full potential and turned into something the Town and community of Cary can be proud of.”

Epic plans to “create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth.” The campus “will include both office buildings and recreational spaces,” Epic added.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht says he was excited for the mixed-use development but is equally excited about the Epic Games development. He believes this will help attract new businesses to the area and help existing shopping centers that are struggling.

“I am looking forward to seeing what Epic is going to bring to the site,” Weinbrecht said. “They are going to attract that [unique] kind of talent in the area and that’s going to attract other businesses that want to be in this area. I think it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Weinbrecht hopes this move can provide a much-needed jolt to the Cary Towne Center area.

“The mall was dying and close to total death,” Weinbrecht said. “This might be a big positive for everything around there.”

One unknown at this point is what the Epic Games development means for the seven-acre sportsplex planned for some of that space. Weinbrecht says Cary is still committed to bringing the sportsplex to that area, but it could be in a different location.

“We are committed and dedicated to having the sportsplex, whether it’s on this site or another site,” Weinbrecht said.

The latest valuation of Epic’s value came in August when the company closed a $1.78 billion round of funding consisting of primary capital and secondary purchases from employee equity holders.

This round includes a previously announced $250 million strategic investment from Sony Corporation. Additional investment partners include Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and David Tepper.

Epic Games leaves Cary waiting and wondering on new HQ at old Cary Towne Center

“The current status of the mall cannot be described as anything other than blight.”

That is how Epic Games described the recently shuttered Cary Towne Center in May 2021, as the video game developer sought to rezone the vacant retail space for its new Triangle headquarters.

Almost three years later, it still fits.

Sandbags today weigh down chain-link fences around the mostly demolished mall. Grass has sprouted in the parking lot cracks. Cary Town Council member Lori Bush called it “a moonscape” at the eastern edge of an otherwise bustling community.

“It is frustrating for me as well to see a sea of dirt,” she said. “It’s frustrating for all the people who live so close to it.”

Cary Towne Center was once a traditional U.S. indoor mall. Built as the Cary Village Mall in 1979, it was expanded (and renamed) in the early 1990s. At its peak, the mall offered over 1 million square feet of retail near downtown Cary and about 10 miles east of central Raleigh.

But the 2010s were a rough decade for large malls across the country, and Cary Towne Center withered as anchors JCPenney, Dillard’s, Macy’s and Sears left. Efforts to bring in an IKEA and Top Golf also fell through.

In 2017, the Cary Town Council approved a rezoning request for the mall’s then-owner, CBL & Associates Properties, to convert the site into a mixed-use hub with retail, housing, restaurants and offices. Before that plan went forward however, CBL sold the 87-acre mall to New York City-based Turnbridge Equities and Dallas-based Denali Properties in February 2019 for $31.5 million.

Like the previous owner, Turnbridge and Denali had mixed-use visions. They proposed a 4.5 million-square-foot revitalized development called Carolina Yards which would contain a hotel, housing, office and retail, along with 10 acres of walkable space. Cary approved the Carolina Yards rezoning in December 2019.

Yet this plan also didn’t materialize, and on the last day of 2020, Epic Games purchased the property for $95 million — more than three times what Turnbridge and Denali had paid. A month later, Cary Towne Center officially closed.

Founded in 1991, Epic is best known for hit titles Gears of War and Fortnite, as well as its Unreal Engine visualization tool, which recently earned the company a shoutout at the Oscars. Despite an ebbing valuation , it remains one of the world’s most valuable private companies.

The game developer has been based in Cary since 1999, with its current headquarters by the intersection of Crossroads Boulevard and Jones Franklin Road. Like other major employers, Epic is cagey about its specific local headcount. In December 2022, the company told The News & Observer that more than 1,000 employees reported to its Triangle office.

After it bought Cary Towne Center, Epic said the additional space would “accommodate its long-term growth.” It also said at the time that it planned to establish its new campus by 2024.

Cary council on initial Epic plan: ‘There is so much missing’

In May 2021, Epic asked the town for permission to build 3.5 million square feet of office space along with a 200-room hotel and retail options. Building heights would range from one to 12 stories. This was more office space than the existing land-use ordinance, passed for Carolina Yards, permitted. A rezoning would be needed.

“The current development on the property is emblematic of the outdated indoor mall concept which, well before the pandemic, lost favor with both people and businesses,” Epic wrote in its application.

That December, the company presented its preliminary plans to the Cary Town Council, refined to include up to 2.7 million square feet of office space, a motion-capture studio and a central utility plant, plus 75,000 square feet of retail and the hotel. The company also referenced a private road that would encircle its offices and berms around the property perimeter for security.

At the meeting , council members denounced the plan for lacking clarity on parking, the construction timeline, and how the buildings and landscape would look. Several were turned off by Epic’s designs to ensure privacy.

“We find this rezoning request unacceptable,” council member Jennifer Robinson said. “It’s fascinating to me that you guys want a lot of vague opportunities because you don’t know what’s going to go there and yet you have some specificity around not having trees in your parking lot.”

Robinson added: “We recognize you are an excellent gaming company. We ask that you be an excellent corporate citizen.”

Council member Jack Smith was even blunter.

“There is so much missing,” he said, adding, “This is like Attica prison with a little bit of shrubbery around it.” He called Epic’s proposal to plant 240 trees so low that he thought it was a typo.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht commended Epic for being a positive presence in the community but said he was also worried about the campus’s aesthetics. He noted developers behind the nearby Fenton mixed-use project had to “jump through hoops” for several years to match the town’s wishes before that construction commenced in 2020.

Epic’s silence continues

After that vocal December 2021 meeting, the ball was back in Epic’s court.

Cary officials said the applicant next needed to request a hearing before the town’s planning and zoning board. Epic still has not done this. And local leaders aren’t sure when it might.

“Nothing has happened,” Bush said. “We’ve reached out to (Epic) and have not heard back, and that’s where it is.”

Bush emphasized Cary is enthusiastic about partnering with the company on the campus, but she acknowledged the long delay was uncommon.

Epic spokesperson Elka Looks told The N&O this week the game developer had no update on its new headquarters. In 2022, Looks told The N&O her company aimed to open its new campus in either 2024 or 2025. Asked if this was the current timeline, she repeated Epic had no update.

Like all businesses, Epic faces a different economy today than it did four years ago. It reached an all-time high valuation of $31.5 billion in April 2022. Yet while 2017’s Fortnite remains insanely popular — exceeding more than 100 million players in November alone — Epic has faced new hurdles in the past few years.

In December 2022, the company agreed to pay a record $520 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission over complaints Fortnite violated children’s privacy law and induced unintended purchases through deceptive designs.

Then in the fall of 2023, Epic laid off more than 800 employees, roughly 16% of its staff, including 170 local workers . In explaining the cuts, Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney said the company was spending more than it was making investing in a metaverse platform.

Earlier this year, Disney took a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic which reportedly valued the Cary game developer at $22.5 billion according to the outlet The Information.

The game developer does own several active retail buildings on the edge of the Cary Towne Center campus, through the entity CTCL Holdings , including a Dave & Busters and a Jared jewelry store. Inside the chain-link fence however, the only standing structure is the one that once housed Belk. Epic Games razed the rest of the mall beginning in early 2022.

Will Epic use the erstwhile Belk as the launching point for a new campus? Will it ever resume the rezoning process? Has Sweeney not acted because of the macro economy? Or perhaps due to local dissatisfaction with the Cary Town Council?

All the public has is questions.

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email [email protected]

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