“Fortnite” game developer will convert mall into massive HQ

Epic Games agreed to buy nearly 1M sf North Carolina complex

Cary Towne Center in North Carolina and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney (Google Maps; Getty)
Cary Towne Center in North Carolina and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney (Google Maps; Getty)

Epic Games, best known for developing the hit game “Fortnite,” is buying a mall in North Carolina with plans to convert it into a new headquarters.

The company has agreed to buy the 980,000-square-foot Cary Towne Center for $95 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The mall is located in Cary, where the company is currently based.
Epic Games plans to open its new headquarters in 2024. It will be about four times as large as the company’s current headquarters.

The seller is Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties, which purchased the property in January 2019, with plans to redevelop it into a mixed-use space with residential, office, retail, and hotel square footage.
Such conversions have been popular in recent years across the country as a way to turn struggling and aging malls into money makers.

Around the same time that Turnbridge and Denali bought the Cary Towne Center, Google announced it would lease the entirety of the former Westside Pavilion mall in Los Angeles, which Hudson Pacific Properties and Macerich are converting into offices.

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Some industry pros have said the pandemic will make mall conversions increasingly prevalent.

Epic Games did not reveal details about its new office complex, but said it has no plans to create an e-sports arena, as some companies have done. Epic Games is also considering space open to the community.

The company also has offices in Seattle, and abroad in Berlin, London and elsewhere. China-based conglomerate Tencent owns a 48.4 percent stake. [WSJ] ­— Dennis Lynch