Disney Infinity let kids mix Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar characters in their own games years before Fortnite. Here’s why Disney shut it down and how its Fortnite bet looks familiar.
Remember putting a Jack Sparrow figure on a glowing plastic base and watching him pop up on your TV?
That was Disney Infinity, and for a few years it was one of the biggest things in kids’ gaming. Then, in 2016, Disney pulled the plug. The studio behind it closed, and the figures went to the clearance bin.
Fast forward, and Disney has put $1.5 billion into Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite. It wants to build a place where fans can play, create and hang out with Disney characters. Sound familiar?
What was Disney Infinity?
Disney Infinity was a toys-to-life video game. You bought real figures, set them on a portal that plugged into your console, and the characters showed up in the game.
It launched Aug. 18, 2013, according to Disney. The starter pack cost $74.99 and came with Jack Sparrow, Mr. Incredible and Sully, Kotaku reported. Extra figures were about $14 each.
Two more versions followed. Disney Infinity 2.0 brought in Marvel superheroes in 2014, and Disney Infinity 3.0 added Star Wars in 2015.
Was Disney Infinity popular?
Very. Disney said it sold more than 3 million starter packs by early 2014, just a few months after launch.
By May 2014, the franchise had pulled in about $550 million in global sales, Game Developer reported. Jimmy Pitaro, who ran Disney Interactive at the time, told the outlet, “We will be a billion-dollar franchise.”
It’s not clear it ever got there.
Why did Disney cancel Disney Infinity?
Disney shut it down on May 10, 2016. The developer, Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City, closed, and close to 300 people lost their jobs, GameSpot reported. Disney took a $147 million charge.
Pitaro explained why in a statement: “The lack of growth in the toys-to-life market, coupled with high development costs, has created a challenging business model.”
The figures were expensive to design, build, ship and stock. And there was a lot of competition for the same shelf space:
Skylanders from Activision started the craze in 2011
Nintendo’s amiibo arrived in 2014
Lego Dimensions landed in 2015
By 2016, parents had bought a lot of plastic. In the U.K., toys-to-life sales fell about 12% in the first four months of 2016, according to GfK data reported by MCV. Disney said it would stop making its own console games and license its characters to other studios instead.
The last products were Alice Through the Looking Glass figures and a Finding Dory play set.
What was the Disney Infinity Toy Box?
This is the part fans still talk about.
Besides the story levels, Disney Infinity had a mode called the Toy Box. You could build your own worlds and games, mix characters from different franchises and share your creations online. Want Elsa and Iron Man racing Darth Vader through a Monsters, Inc. obstacle course? You could make that.
If that sounds like Fortnite Creative or Roblox today, that’s the point. Disney had a Disney-only sandbox for player-made games years before those took off.
When did Disney Infinity’s servers shut down?
The PC and mobile versions stopped working on Sept. 30, 2016, and Disney stopped approving new Toy Box uploads, Shacknews reported. All online services ended March 3, 2017.
Console versions still work offline. So if you’ve still got the portal and figures in a closet, you can play.
What happened to Avalanche Software after Disney Infinity?
This is where the story gets a twist. Warner Bros. brought the studio back in January 2017, Kotaku reported, with co-founder John Blackburn returning to lead it.
Avalanche went on to make Hogwarts Legacy, which launched in 2023. It passed 40 million copies sold by December 2025, according to Warner Bros. Games.
So the team Disney let go built one of the best-selling games of the decade for a rival studio.
Why did Disney invest in Fortnite and Epic Games?
On Feb. 7, 2024, Disney announced a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games. The plan is a Disney “universe” connected to Fortnite, where fans can play games, watch, shop and create.
Then-CEO Bob Iger said the deal would “bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe.”
Since then, Disney content has shown up in Fortnite a lot:
A Marvel season and Star Wars gear in 2024
Darth Vader with an AI-powered voice in May 2025
The Simpsons season in November 2025
Star Wars: Smugglers Gambit in August 2026, a Fortnite mission tied to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride at Disney parks
Is the Disney universe in Fortnite out yet?
Not yet. As of September 2026, the full Disney universe hasn’t launched, and neither company has given an official date.
Current CEO Josh D’Amaro said in May 2026 that “our collaboration with Epic Games is central to our efforts in this space.” And after Epic cut about 1,000 jobs in March, Epic president Adam Sussman told GameSpot, “The vision is unchanged.”
Was Disney Infinity ahead of its time?
A lot of fans think so.
Disney Infinity had most of the pieces Disney is chasing now: characters from every franchise in one place, player-made games and a community sharing them. What it didn’t have was the business model. Selling physical figures cost a lot, while Fortnite makes its money from digital skins that cost almost nothing to ship.
This time, Disney is building its sandbox on someone else’s platform, with no plastic in sight. Somewhere, a closet full of Infinity figures is quietly saying, “We told you so.”
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
The Walt Disney Company (2014), the launch date and 3 million starter packs
Kotaku (Aug. 17, 2013), launch pricing, and (Jan. 24, 2017) Avalanche’s revival at Warner Bros.
Game Developer (June 13, 2014), the $550 million figure and Jimmy Pitaro quote
GameSpot (May 10, 2016), the cancellation, job cuts, charge, Pitaro statement and final products
MCV (2016), U.K. toys-to-life sales data
Shacknews (2016), the server shutdown timeline
KitGuru (Dec. 2025), Hogwarts Legacy sales
The Walt Disney Company (Feb. 7, 2024), the Epic Games investment and Bob Iger quote, and (Aug. 16, 2026) Smugglers Gambit
GameSpot (2026), the Josh D’Amaro and Adam Sussman quotes
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