Disney’s Epic Games Partnership Takes Next Step With ‘Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite’
The world of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is about to expand beyond the Disney Parks and onto a screen near you.
Disney announced during a Saturday presentation at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event a “first-of-its-kind experience” that will connect the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction to the popular Fortnite video game.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
The collaboration, dubbed Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite, will launch on August 16 at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite
A special Star Wars-themed adventure titled Smugglers Gambit will launch inside Fortnite on August 16. Guests waiting in the queue at either the Disneyland or Disney’s Hollywood Studios version of the attraction will have access to a “special mission,” which they can accept in their respective resort’s mobile app or in the Smugglers Gambit island inside Fortnite.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Those who accept and complete the mission will receive a “Forsworn Trooper Outfit” in Fortnite. DisneyParksBlog writer Rain Blanken also notes that crates you collect on the attraction can “unlock rewards” that carry over into the game.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Fortnite come together in a first-of-its-kind connected adventure.
Join Hondo Ohnaka’s mission across Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Smugglers Gambit and unlock the exclusive Forsworn Trooper Outfit when you link your eligible MyDisney and… pic.twitter.com/vgrt1KWGDz
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) August 15, 2026
You must connect your MyDisney account to an Epic Games account to receive the bonuses.
The Smugglers Gambit adventure takes you off Batuu and to the planet Ord Ryla. It was developed by Disney Games and Digital Entertainment and, per Blanken, “puts players right in the middle of the kind of risky business Hondo [Ohnaka] seems to specialize in.”
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Blanken writes that Disney Games “worked closely” with both Lucasfilm and Imagineering on this project to ensure it cohesively aligns with the land’s narrative.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is a natural attraction to collaborate with Fortnite. The ride’s cockpit technology utilizes Unreal Engine, which is a product of Epic Games, Fortnite‘s parent company.
Disney’s Epic Ambitions
Photo: Disney, Epic Games
This is an interesting announcement in a vacuum, but it’s perhaps just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and an indicator of more ambitious things to come.
Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games in early 2024. The Mouse indicated at that time that it would collaborate with Epic to create “an all-new games and entertainment universe” to “further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences.”
Photo: Disney
The company made it clear that it wasn’t just creating another video game. It was creating a digital crossroads for its various facets.
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro has been bullish on the partnership. He spoke about the potential of the company’s ultimate collaboration with Epic earlier this year, stating, “It could be a new film premiering there. It could be the place that you decide to book your next cruise vacation. You could participate with the Super Bowl in some way there.”
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite, though functionally just a few in-game bonuses you get for using an app, is the first real manifestation of this partnership’s potential. It’s the genuine intersection of Disney’s digital and physical worlds and a true sign of what’s to come.
Make sure to keep an eye on MickeyBlog for continued coverage of the latest news out of D23.
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Feature Image: Disney Parks Blog
