Will ‘Fortnite’ Ambush Profits at Rival Videogames?

Screenshots from the game “Fortnite.”

Fortnite became an overnight sensation among gamers. The shooter-style game is played through all the main platforms: Xbox, Playstation, PC, and mobile. Its success came after releasing a battle royale mode, where 100 players battle for survival, and the last one alive wins. Fortnite is completely free, and it now has over 32 million monthly players.

.However, this extreme popularity poses a risk for competitors. Activision Blizzard Inc, one of the major game developers in the world already reported a decreasing value on its stock, and the release of its first-quarter results in May might reflect the "Fortnite threat."

When applying this scenario to the concepts we've seen in class, several factors appear. First, many argue that Fortnite's popularity is due to the fact that it is always free. PUBG, Fortnite's biggest competitor, charges around $30 for installing the game, and that price difference is critical to Fortnite's success.  On the other hand, if one were to perform a SWOT analysis of the game, there are strong threats. Fortnite is developed by Epic Games, an independent publisher, and their main competitor are experienced public-traded publishers such as Eletronic Arts, Activision, or Rockstar Games. It has been revealed that some of these major companies want to introduce the battle royale feature to their new games, and that composes the biggest threat of all.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-fortnite-ambush-profits-at-rival-videogames-1524130201

Vinny R. Ferreira