For every 10 people that hate Fortnite, there are 100 that love the game. It’s free to play in every way, which explains its huge appeal. It’s a multiplayer that limits virtually no one from playing, something has helped it attract more than 125 million players. It immersive design and unique features have also helped it attract media attention all over the world.
Despite all that, it’s overwhelming that a free to play game like Fortnite earned $2.4 billion dollars in 2018. Not only was it the highest grossing free game of 2018, but it also earned much more than most paid games. So, how does Fortnite do it? What marketing strategies does it use to dominate the gaming industry?
Free for Life
Pricing is a major selling point for games these days. Video games that cost more than $30 and come from unknown publishers almost don’t have a chance in capturing the market. Epic Games was an established developer long before Fortnite. And like it was its tradition, it released Fortnite at a price for several months before making it free for life.
The company could have kept its fee, but Fortnite would probably not have turned out to be such a success. We’ll explain more of this later.
With the game coming free of charge, Fortnite’s business model involves selling cosmetic digital stuff. You could play the game from start to finish without spending anything. But if you want your character to look like a superhero, you have to spend cash. There is a wide variety of cosmetics on the game, and serious gamers spend hundreds of dollars on in-game purchases.
Unlike most free games, Fortnite also found a way to convince its players to spend money. One study reported by Forbes magazine shows that 69% of Fortnite players have spent money on the game at least once. The average amount spent per player is $85 and the game has $125 million players.
Celebrity Appeal
Fortnite’s appeal to celebrities and popular culture has made it a cultural phenomenon. From the rapper Drake to Red Sox’s David Price, Ellen DeGeneres to France’s ace Antoine Griezmann, pop icons love the game.
Like online gambling when it first came out, Fortnite has found a home in Hollywood’s elite. In a similar fashion, the game has created a couple of worldwide celebrities. The most famous among them is Ninja, famous for streaming games on YouTube and Twitch. Click here to find more popular games as entertaining as Fortnite and the best platforms to play them.
Its Unique Features
Fortnite is not the only Battle Royale game in the market. It has the company of H1Z1, Apex Legends, Call of Duty; Black Ops and PUBG. Each of these games has some unique aspects yet not all of them are as popular as Fortnite.
One of Fortnite’s unique features is the ability to build protective structures immediately you land on the battlegrounds. Slacken and you are out of the game. The graphics in the game are also unique to the game. While PUBG looks realistic, including its weaponry, Fortnite is cartoonish. Your characters, the landscapes, and weapons aren’t as realistic as some would wish but yet most players would never quit the game.
Lots of Shareable Moments
From the first day you play Fortnite to a year later, you could create a book writing about all the fun you have playing the game. New players are bundled out of the competition first, something Fortnite critics consider a game flaw. But as you get back into action and keep trying the game, you start feeling like you’re part of the community.
Families that love gaming and streaming together also love Fortnite. Everyone in the house can participate in the same game and compete to complete challenges. It’s one of the few games where your accomplishments feel real. Hunting and killing people comes with huge risks and great rewards. But whether you win or lose, you are left with lots of moments to share.
Cross-Platform Gaming
Fortnite is like an online casino. Android players can compete against iPhone players. PC and console gamers face each other despite the differences in control. Better yet, mobile gamers also play against PC players, making Fortnite one of the best cross-platform games ever.
Unlike casino games though, Fortnite doesn’t have a wide variety of challenges. The usual goals of killing enemies of searching chests are cycled every week. Compare that to online casinos. The Zamsino UK page, for instance, is filled with dozens of casino sites, games and betting sites.
Sure, Fortnite is one game and casinos are platforms with multiple games, but most developers provide a better variety of things players compete against. Still, Fortnite’s ability to bring together gamers from all major platforms has earned it the respect of millions of fans.
Great Advertising Techniques
Fortnite uses lots of clever marketing gimmicks to convince people to spend on its games. Unlike most games, its loot boxes are translucent. You can partly see what’s in the box. And if you have seen it with another player, you already know to expect.
That’s a better marketing technique than what many publishers do. Most companies hide the content of their loot boxes and use randomized techniques to ensure players never get what they pay for. Again, Fortnite gives its players the chance to earn loot boxes without having to pay.
As already mentioned, nearly 70% of Fortnite gamers have spent money on the game. It costs more than transparency to get players to spend. One of the more important techniques Epic Games use is psychological advertising.
Great skins are listed temporarily so that players compete for the days before they are removed for good. Since most of the cosmetics are great looking or help players achieve something, they feel pressured to purchase them.
In Conclusion
Fortnite is just not another popular games. It’s arguably the most popular free to play game. Anyone from the world can become a player. You don’t have to pay to participate but surprisingly, more than half of the game’s fans spend money on cosmetics.
Fortnite’s easy to play nature, its family-friendly graphics and popularity with celebrities have taken it to heights most games would only dream of. If you’ve never played, give it a try. It’s available on all platforms and comes free of charge.
