Battle Royale: A Billion-Dollar Gaming Trend

When Antoine Griezmann scored his goal in the FIFA World Cup final last Sunday, he celebrated it by jumping from one leg to the other, forming an L in front of his forehead with his fingers. While many of the roughly one billion TV spectators were confused by Griezmann’s little dance and some even thought he was taunting the opposing fans, the initiated noticed immediately what he was doing. The celebration was a nod to Fortnite Battle Royale, arguably the most popular video game on the planet right now.

Like millions of others, Griezmann is a big fan of the survival game that sees up to 100 players pitted against each other in a last-man-standing type of competition. Following its release in the fall of 2017, the free-to-play Fortnite quickly became a global phenomenon. It is available on all major gaming platforms, including smartphones, and the only way it’s making money is through in-game purchases. The fact that it’s free doesn’t keep it from generating huge amounts of revenue for Epic Games, the company behind it, though. According to a new report from SuperData Research, the game recently passed $1 billion in revenue.

Fortnite is spearheading a broader trend that saw the battle royale genre rise to huge popularity this year. According to SuperData’s estimates, the genre will generate $12.6 billion in revenue this year, up from just $1.7 billion in 2017. An end to the Fortnite and battle royale craze is not in sight: with more and more game studios trying to capitalize on the hottest gaming trend, battle royale revenue is expected to climb to $20 billion next year.