Fortnite on iOS Has Earned $50M Since Launch

May 4, 2018 4:41 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Popular battle royale game Fortnite has eared more than $50 million in revenue since its March 15 launch, according to new data shared this afternoon by app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Fortnite is free to download, but it encourages players to shell out cash within the app for "V-Bucks" that can be used to purchase customization items like emotes, outfits, gliders, and more. The minimum in-app purchase is $9.99 for 1,000 V-Bucks, but players can spend more if desired. Players are also able to earn V-Bucks in game, but at a slow rate.


On iOS devices, Fortnite has proven to be incredibly popular. While it was still in beta, Fortnite had earned more than $1.5 million, and during its first month of availability on iPads and iPhones, the game brought in $25 million. It only took two weeks for that to double to $50 million.

Fortnite continues to be the number two top free game on the iOS App Store, with Epic Games managing to keep players engaged through different seasons that introduce new challenges to complete and content to unlock. Players can also purchase Battle Passes for $10 worth of in-game currency to receive additional items for completing season content.

Fortnite's fourth season content, which debuted earlier this week, is what pushed it over the $50 million mark. Player spending in the game jumped up 293 percent on May 1 when the content launched, a 4x increase compared to the preceding Tuesday.


Sensor Tower says that Fortnite's strategy of selling limited-time skins and other items has resulted in players spending approximately $1 million per day in the mobile game alone.


PUBG, another battle royale game that launched shortly after Fortnite, has not been as successful, which Sensor Tower attributes in part to its loot box monetization strategy. While Fortnite offers unique items available for a limited amount of time, PUGB only allows players to purchase randomized boxes that can result in duplicate and non-useful items.

Tags: Sensor Tower, Fortnite
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SeminalSage
40 months ago
Limited time skins? As in the skins are only available for a limited time or once you buy them they only last a limited time?
Only available to buy for a limited time. Once bought, they stay in the players inventory.
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The trailer looked interesting. I was wondering if there was plans to bring it to the tvOS, but...

I don't bother with this type of model anymore. If a game is decent, I'd rather just pay for it, not pay for currency that many times is required to advance in the game.

But I guess some people like it with all the IAP made.
Yeah, whenever you see a freemium game raking in boatloads of cash through IAPs, it's a pretty good indication that it's going to be a money pit. But then I also see any freemium game that can afford to run advertisements in other apps, let alone on TV, in much the same light, and avoid those too. Apparently some people enjoy them though.
While I’m not a fan of the freemium model in general, I think Epic has done this right. You only buy what you want, you know exactly what you are getting, and the purchase offers no in game advantage.
Score: 18 Votes
THE JUICEMAN
40 months ago
The trailer looked interesting. I was wondering if there was plans to bring it to the tvOS, but...

I don't bother with this type of model anymore. If a game is decent, I'd rather just pay for it, not pay for currency that many times is required to advance in the game.

But I guess some people like it with all the IAP made.
You could literally not spend 1 cent on this game and still enjoy it and win and get all the same guns as everyone else. It’s all cosmetics which doesn’t bother me as long as the game is fun.
Rating: 4 Votes
TheAppleFairy
40 months ago
You could literally not spend 1 cent on this game and still enjoy it and win and get all the same guns as everyone else. It’s all cosmetics which doesn’t bother me as long as the game is fun.
On top of that, they are keeping it fresh with changes over time. They had the sniper only mode for a while, then the high explosive mode, then 50 vs 50, now they are doing something with the crater in the middle of the map. Keeping it fresh is a big part of success in a video game.
Rating: 3 Votes
Sbishop84
40 months ago
The trailer looked interesting. I was wondering if there was plans to bring it to the tvOS, but...

I don't bother with this type of model anymore. If a game is decent, I'd rather just pay for it, not pay for currency that many times is required to advance in the game.

But I guess some people like it with all the IAP made.
You don’t actually need to spend any money to play the game. The v-bucks buy you items that customise your player but DO NOT enhance game play in any way. It does not give you a competitive edge over any player.
Rating: 3 Votes
eyeseeyou
40 months ago
Just wait til they make it compatible with mfi controllers.
Rating: 3 Votes
fairuz
40 months ago
I don't bother with this type of model anymore. If a game is decent, I'd rather just pay for it, not pay for currency that many times is required to advance in the game.

But I guess some people like it with all the IAP made.
You only pay for cosmetic stuff. There's no unlocking content or, as someone else said, pay2win. I don't get why people pay for that, but they do. Fine by me; I get to play a good-quality game for free (well PUBG is kinda better, but fewer friends play it).
Rating: 3 Votes

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