Category: Fortnite

Fortnite Outsells PUBG in Microtransactions

Epic Game’s “Fortnight” is swimming in cash thanks to in-app purchases. Specifically, the game earned $126 million from that side of the business in February, exceeding the monthly revenue of rival title “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” and marking a marketing first for the game. Those familiar with Fortnite’s rising star, especially after implementing a 100-player battle royale mode, will find this information as nothing new.

While Epic Games co-opted PUBG’s idea of parachuting onto an island with a large group of players vying to be the last man standing, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. First, Fortnight is completely free-to-play. Second, PUBG earning $103 million in February, the bulk of that figure came from one-time $30 purchases of the title on Steam. Fortnight, conversely, makes the bulk of its earnings through in-app purchases of cosmetic items like alternate costume skins and special emotes.

While PUBG also offers the option of purchasing cosmetic items, it falls behind Fortnite’s offerings. PUBG Corp/Bluehole, developers for PUBG stated that it would be adding emotes in the future, while Fortnite has had emotes since its September launch. Fortnitt also has a benefit when it comes to platform: in addition to PC users, the title is also available to PS4 and X-Box one users, with iOS play currently undergoing closed beta testing. Analysts predict that the iOS port of Fortnite has earned Epic Games $1.5 million in the one week that that version has been remotely playable.

Beyond the monetary reasons or venue, Fortnite also features a learning curve and aesthetic that makes it more endearing to younger players than PUBG’s dark, gritty and realistic aesthetic. The addition of mobile play means that younger gamers, who may lack a proper console or gaming-tier PC, can participate. One final consideration in Fortnite’s favor is the notion of cheating, cheating within PUBG is such a rampant problem that Bluehole has had to prioritize resources toward anti-cheating measures instead of new gameplay features.

Teen Cheater’s Mom Suing Epic Games for Banning Teen Son

Epic Games, developer of survival shooter title “Fortnite,” is now in legal trouble after taking legal action against a fourteen-year-old child for admitted cheating. The child’s mother has filed a legal note demanding for the suit to tossed out. While some have praised Epic and others shake their heads in dismay at using the courts for excessive point-making, the whole scenario has the makings of a new precedent in the reaction of developers for future violations of EULAs.

Fortnite focuses on a multiplayer scenario of up to 100 players in a single-round elimination contest. Because of the high stakes, some unscrupulous players have looked into cheating programs, such as being able to automatically hit moving targets. While Epic has previously engaged in arms race with cheaters, they have escalated things by suing the suppliers of cheating programs and a teenage boy. Some remark that Epic’s actions mirror those of the MPAA, suing people using software to illegally download and upload mp3s.

Lauren Rogers, the child’s mother, filed a legal document expressing that her child is guilt-free for neither developing nor distributing cheating programs; he only downloaded them from a vendor and streamed their use. Rogers further claims the suit would be difficult to uphold as her child is a minor; Fortnite’s EULA contains no option for minors to acquire parental consent and that Epic would be hard-pressed to explain how cheating imperiled their profits when Fortnite’s revenue is limited to microtransactions. Lastly, Epic may have violated disclosure by naming the child and suing him-both illegal in certain states.

Epic’s defense is their suit is pertinent to promoting cheating; the child ignored Epic’s DMCA takedown notice and even created a second video confessing to his willful disregard of Epic and the streamed use of cheating software. While Epic can seek up to $150,000 in damages from the boy for violating their EULA and refusing to remove his video, it remains unknown whether Epic will follow through.