Fortnite dev pulled in reported $3 billion profit in 2018

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Fortnite Steady Storm game mode
It seems that Fortnite is quite the money spinner.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite may be free-to-play, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a well-oiled money-printing machine. According to a new report, developer Epic Games raked in an incredible $3 billion in profit this year, largely on the back of the 2018 smash hit game.

The impressive part of the feat is that in Fortnite the in-app purchases are not essential, but rather totally optional. While some gamers would no doubt prefer premium titles, that’s definitely a step up from the games which are basically broken unless you throw money at them.

At present, Fortnite has 125 million players worldwide. It helped pioneer the battle royale gaming category, and remains the most popular entry in this genre. Fortnite ranked among the top Google searches in 2018.

Fortnite on iOS

Working out what percentage of the $3 billion is attributable to Fortnite isn’t easy, although it’s likely to be significant. Nor is working out how much of that sum can be attributed to iOS, since Fortnite is available on multiple platforms. (As a private company, Epic Games doesn’t have to share its financial records.) However, an article from TechCrunch — which reported the $3 billion figure — offers some hints.

“The most recent data comes from November when Sensor Tower estimates that iOS users alone were spending $1.23 million per day. That helped the game bank $37 million in the month and take its total earnings within Apple’s iOS platform to more than $385 million … We can deduce from Sensor Tower’s November estimate that iOS pulled in $385 million over eight months — between April and November — which is around $48 million per month on average.”

Our biggest question is whether Fortnite will be able to maintain this same kind of momentum in 2019. The game managed to stay fresh through 2018 thanks to a constant stream of updates and new additions. Will the formula hold in 2019? We’ll have to wait and see. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: TechCrunch

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