MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The battle royale titan Fortnite is theorized to be cannibalising the microtransactions revenue from leading console titles, according to market research firm SuperData.
The analysis suggests that sales of Fortnite’s cosmetics are causing a 6% drop in the revenue from microtransactions in other console titles. SuperData poses the question of if Epic’s spectacular success with Fortnite carries with it a significant financial downside for its rival publishers.
The report also shows a 49% increase in revenue from in-game purchases on consoles across all titles, and notes that rival publishers Activision Blizzard and EA credit Fortnite as having introduced more players to their games. EA argued that Fortnite was “bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters.”
Despite this, SuperData illustrates that if Fortnite is removed from these figures, the data shows a 6% drop in microtransaction revenue across the industry.
The data includes titles which SuperData lists as the “top 50 digital console titles.” While the exact titles are not named, Blizzard’s Overwatch is certain to be included, given its success and controversial loot box system.
SuperData went on to suggest that Fortnite’s success was also dominating attention on streaming services, to the detriment of its competitors. Over the past three months, online viewership of Fortnite has risen by 59%, while other top titles such as Overwatch and CS:GO have fallen by 16% and 51%, respectively.
Fortnite’s success requires no introduction, having dominated headlines and broken gaming records since its release last year, earning over $1 billion from in-game purchases alone.
