Skip to main content

Fortnite made $1.8 billion in 2019, retains title as highest-earning game

Global phenomenon Fortnite retained its title as the highest-earning game in 2019, with the free-to-play shooter earning a staggering $1.8 billion in revenue.

According to SuperData, the video game industry research arm of Nielsen, the overall revenue of free-to-play games increased by 6% in 2019 to $87.1 billion. In second place behind Fortnite was Dungeon Fighter Online with $1.6 billion, followed by Honour of Kings, including Arena of Valor, also with $1.6 billion. In fourth place and fifth place were League of Legends and Candy Crush Saga, both with $1.5 billion, followed by Pokémon GO with $1.4 billion.

Recommended Videos

SuperData also highlighted Apex Legends, which it said disrupted the free-to-play market through its “groundbreaking marketing strategy.” While the Battle Royale shooter did not break into the top 10 earners for 2019, it set a new record of the fastest 50 million downloads for any PC or console game.

Fortnite‘s earnings in 2019 actually declined by 25%, from a record-setting $2.4 billion in 2018. However, the shooter still surpassed all other free-to-play games due to its consistent updates and monetization through battle passes, according to SuperData. “The game has been extremely successful at converting players to spenders,” it said. While there are more League of Legends players, Fortnite players on PC are twice as likely to spend on in-game items compared to players of the MOBA.

SuperData added that Fortnite was able to retain its popularity partly due to its crossover promotions with big names in pop culture such as Marvel’s Avengers, Stranger Things, and Star Wars.

Spending on premium games, or the games that players need to buy first, were down 5% in 2019, which SuperData said was due to a gap year in AAA game launches. FIFA 19 was the top earner last year among premium games on the PC and consoles with $786 million in revenue, followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at $645 million. Grand Theft Auto V keeps making money more than six years since its release with earnings of $595 million in 2019.

Heading into 2020, it remains to be seen what is in store for Fortnite players this year. Blizzards have started appearing in most of the game’s modes though, making for interesting situations while also possibly hinting at upcoming changes to the shooter’s map.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
FTC issuing $72 million in refunds over ‘unwanted’ Fortnite purchases
Fortnite at recommended settings

No one will argue that Fortnite is a money-printing machine, but some of its practices went too far with the way it pressured players into spending their hard-earned dough, and now the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing more than $72 million in refunds to affected players across the country. If you're eligible for the refund, you'll be notified in the coming weeks, and you can expect an average payment of around $114, according to VGC.

Epic Games came under fire for this current situation back in 2022 when the publisher was accused of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) along with accusations of tricking players into making unwanted charges. The FTC said Epic Games "used dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases and let children rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement." Epic agreed to pay over $500 million to settle the complaints brought by the FTC.

Read more
Lego Fortnite is getting a massive update, including a new game mode
Characters fishing in LEGO Fortnite.

Fortnite's various Lego modes have been around for just under a year, but they remain some of the most popular choices for players. With the one-year anniversary coming up, Epic Games announced a series of significant changes coming to the game type.

To begin with, Lego Fortnite will be renamed Lego Fortnite Odyssey. That's because Lego Fortnite will become the hub for anything Lego-related within the Fortnite ecosystem and provide players with an easy way to start up any Lego game mode.

Read more
Fortnite is finally getting a first-person mode next week
Key art for Fortnite's new first person shooter mode Ballistic.

Fortnite Ballistic, the long-awaited first-person mode for Epic Games' hit battle royale shooter Fortnite, will finally come to the game on December 11.

Epic Games first teased a first-person Fortnite mode in March, but now we have a clearer idea of how it will play. Ballistic is a round-based 5v5 mode with no respawns, similar to competitive shooters like Valorant or Spectre Divide. A team of attackers fights to plant and detonate a Rift Point Device in certain spots on the map, while defenders fight to eliminate the other team before they can do the same. While attackers and defenders will swap their roles after six rounds, Ballistic matches are a best-of-seven affair across both ranked and unranked play.

Read more