The Epic Games multiplayer shooter, Fortnite, has been a runaway success since releasing last summer. While the game's narrative Save The World mode was popular in its own right, it's the Battle Royale mode that is its biggest draw. Despite being free to play, it seems that Fortnite Battle Royale is making bank in a big way according to updated revenue figures for the game.
According to industry analysis firm SuperData Research, Fortnite has now made more than $1 billion in microtransactions since being released in July 2017. A chart shows that this revenue has skyrocketed since Fortnite Battle Royale was released in late September 2017. As detailed by the graph further below, there were steady increases between October 2017 and February 2018, but it reached stratospheric heights around March 2018.
It's little coincidence that March 2018 was when Fortnite streamer Ninja streamed the game with superstar rapper Drake. That event not only broke Twitch records, but also it got mainstream coverage. Likely, many of those who hadn't heard of Fortnite (but had certainly heard of Drake) decided to give the game a shot at that point.
There was also a significant jump in revenue between March 2018 and April 2018. This will partly be down to the residual effects of the Ninja/Drake stream as this took place in mid-March, with coverage extending to April. But it can also be attributed to the release of FortniteBattle Royale on iOS. SuperData's figures account for all versions of the game, including PC, consoles, and mobile devices. Given that previous reports stated that the iOS version made $15 million in a matter of days, it's not hard to see where that increase came from.
The revenue growth was a little slower between April and May 2018, but it's worth noting that Fortnite Season 4 didn't begin until May 1. Therefore, many players may have been saving up their V-Bucks (and their real bucks), waiting for the new cosmetics to drop.
SuperData's chart ends in May 2018, but it's not difficult to see how Fortnite has kept growing and has given players plenty of reasons to spend beyond that point. Fortnite Season 5 just began, adding a whole host of new outfits for players to purchase. New cosmetics will be added over the course of the season too, meaning that the game will earn revenue continuously.
Also set to add to Epic's already jam-packed coffers is Fortnite Battle Royale's hotly anticipated release on Android. The launch date has yet to be confirmed beyond "summer 2018", but many Android users are champing at the bit, waiting for their chance to buy skins and secure Victory Royales too.
Fortnite is available now in early access for iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and is eyeing a summer 2018 release window for Android.
Source: SuperData (via GamingBolt)
