Fortnite Studio Founder Is Now A Billionaire - Report

Tim Sweeney, the founder of Fortnite studio Epic Games, is now a billionaire. That's according to a new report from business publication Bloomberg.

Sweeney, who is 47, is Epic's majority individual shareholder. The report goes on to claim that Epic as a company is worth between $5 billion and $8 billion, so you can imagine Sweeney's net worth is quite significant given that he holds so many shares.

Sweeney isn't gaming's first billionaire. According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Valve founder Gabe Newell has a net worth of $6.86 billion. That makes him the 235th richest person on Earth.

The Bloomberg story also reveals one of Sweeney's favourite drinks: 60 percent water and 40 percent Diet Coke mixed together.

Epic is enjoying incredible success of late thanks to the company's hugely popular battle royale game Fortnite. It was released a year ago this week, and in that time it's attracted an incredible 125 million players--and it's brought in millions upon millions in revenue. The game is free, but players can spend real money on a range of cosmetic items.

The developer pouring some of that money back into the community, as it is promising $100 million in total prize money for the game's 2018-2019 competitive season. Additionally, Epic recently announced a big change to its Unreal Engine Marketplace whereby it will now pay creators 88 percent of sales, with Epic taking just 12 percent. This is significantly higher than the industry standard 70/30 split, and is no doubt made possible in part by Fortnite's massive success.

Sweeney is dedicated to conservation efforts. In 2016, he donated $15 million to permanently protect a 7,000-acre forest in the developer's home state of North Carolina. He's been buying landing in North Carolina since 2008, and now has more than 40,000 acres of land in the state.