Money spent by Fortnite players has dropped by 52% over the course of the past year, leading many to believe the game is not doing as well as it seems.
It feels like it has been a little while, maybe not long enough for some people, but Fortnite is the talk of the video game world once again. Epic caught everyone's attention by not bringing Season X to a close when expected and then stuffing the entire game into a black hole. Two days later, a similar but different game re-emerged.
It has been dubbed Fortnite Chapter Two and with it comes a new map, battle pass, weapons... pretty much everything, hence Fortnite once again being the talk of the town. However, numbers don't lie, and certain numbers don't look good for Fortnite. According to Edison Trends, Fortnite players are spending 52% less now than they were during the second quarter of 2018.
Considering the amount of revenue Epic rakes in courtesy of Fortnite, that is a lot of money. However, it also means a lot of money is still being spent. As you can see from the graphic below which compares Fortnite to the likes of PUBG and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, it is still very much top of the pile.
The decline is plain to see, though. It should also be noted that neither PUBG or Apex Legends have seen anywhere near as much of a decline as Fortnite. PUBG's player spending has dropped by just 2% during the same time period. Although Apex can't be compared to Fortnite in the same way as it hasn't been around long enough, its sales have remained steady from launch until now.
Nothing lasts forever, not even Fortnite. Even its most dedicated fans are beginning to realize that Epic really doesn't seem to care about them. The developer admitted during Season X that a lot of the changes it makes to the game are geared towards bringing in and keeping new players rather than serving those who have been around for a while. Judging by the number above, that mentality might well wind up being Fortnite's undoing.
Source: Edison Trends