If you are a guy then you are most probably into some video game in this day and age. There is no need to explain how big video games have become in today’s world. It’s not because they have not been good in the past it is just that they are easily accessible these days. Ever since the beginning of the video gaming industry video games has always been in demand. If there is a good game that was released then everyone would want to get their hands on the game. But as you know not everyone could afford to buy a console back then so one of the easiest ways for them to play games was through arcade games. If you were a gamer in the ‘90s and the early 2000s then you would know how big arcade games were. After that things started to change for the gaming industry.
Video games were going through a transition. The main difference was the quality of the graphics. The release of PlayStation 2 was the turning point in the history of video games. It changed the way video games looked and played. As technology changed the video games have become more advanced. They started using any new technology that could make their video games better. Not only that but the video gaming industry also found a way to become compatible with devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops. People who could not buy consoles but loved video games have found a new way to satisfy their appetites. In the past five years, smartphones have gotten so much better that they can be used to play games that are almost on par with the games available on a console. One such game is Fortnite which can be played on PCs, consoles, and phones.
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What is Fortnite?
If you are a millennial who is into gaming then there is no need to tell you about Fortnite. That’s how popular the game has become. Frankly, it is quite hard to believe how popular the game has become since it was released. Fortnite is an online video game that was developed by Epic Games and was released in the year 2017. Since the day of its release, the game has garnered a lot of attention from all kinds of people in the gaming world. It has managed to get a user base of more than 150 million people within the first year of its release. This shows how much people have enjoyed playing the game.
There are three gaming modes for Fortnite, they are called save the world, battle royale, and creative. Among these game modes save the world and battle royale were released in the initial year. Creatives were released in the year 2018. All of these gaming modes have gotten a great response from the players. Today Fortnite has become a cultural phenomenon. People are spending their weekend nights playing Fortnite. It is one of the most popular and loved battle royale games in the world right now and it is not going to change anytime soon.
Before getting into the business model of Fortnite let’s know more about the game and how it is played as this will be helpful for you to know how it works and makes money.
Gameplay of Fortnite
As mentioned earlier there are three gaming modes of Fortnite. They are, save the world, battle royale, and creative. All of these gaming modes have different types of gameplay. Not only but these game modes use the same engine. That means they have similar graphics and mechanics. The number of people who play these game modes vary. This is important as it is directly proportional to the amount of money that the game makes so let’s go through each gaming mode.
Fortnite: Save the world
This was the first gaming mode that was released by Fortnite. In this mode, a player can team up with other players. The maximum number of people who can team up is four. You can team up with other players and work together to accomplish various tasks. The context of this game mode is that 98% of the earth’s population is wiped out because of a storm. People who have survived this are now being attacked by husks which are quite similar to zombies. Now you are like one of the commanders of surviving shelters. You have to complete various tasks like saving survivors, collecting resources, and data that is related to storms or the one that prevents it.
As you complete each mission you will receive rewards. You will get things like weapons, new characters, in-game items, and other things. A player also gains experience points which help them to improve their character’s attributes.
Fortnite Battle Royale
A person who is into mobile gaming doesn’t need an introduction to battle royale. This is because the battle royale games have taken the video game world by storm in the past five years. The top mobile is battle royale games. For those who don’t know what battle royale games are, these are the games where you are pitted against other players in a vast area. These kinds of games require you to eliminate other players while collecting weapons and traveling to other locations as the area of gameplay becomes shorter and shorter. The player or the team that remains at the end are the winners. It is similar to movies like hunger games where you have to kill every other person to win.
The battle royale of Fortnite is no different. In this game mode, there will be upto 100 players playing at the same time. You can play as a single-player, duo, or form a squad. The squad has a maximum of four players in it. At the beginning of the game, you will not have anything. You will have to airdrop in your desired location from a battle bus that flies across the map. After you drop from the sky you have to start searching for the weapons and other stuff that you need to survive in the game. You will also find vehicles that you can use to travel to other locations in the map. The gaming area starts to shrink as the game progresses forcing the players to get closer to each other. Anyone who is outside the play area will die. The last surviving members win.
Fortnite Creative
This is a gaming that is similar to Minecraft. In this game mode, the players are the complete freedom to build whatever they want on an island. You can build things like buildings, battle arenas, and racing courses as well as many other things.
Business model of Fortnite
For those of you who don’t know Fortnite is completely free to play. It doesn’t even show advertisements to players who are playing the game. The most important component of their business model is the players who play the game. It is totally dependent on the players and it has done a great job of keeping them engaged.
Users
If you are an online video game then the number of people who are playing your game on a daily basis is very important. If you don’t have hundreds of thousands of people playing your game daily then you are not a success. But this is not a problem for Fortnite as there are millions of people who are playing this game every day. Most of the people who are playing Fortnite are playing Battle Royale. The main reason why this game has become popular among all kinds of people regardless of age and gender is because of its tone. Despite being a battle royale game you will not be witnessing any blood while eliminating other players. This gives a fun and pleasant experience to the people who are playing it.
Apart from that the characters and their characteristics like the way the dance makes them feel light-hearted. The world of Fortnite is filled with bright colors which is another plus point for the game. Because of this, it has managed to become the favorite online game for millions of people around the world. Even many popular gamers started playing and streaming Fortnite which made it reach many people. Not only that but many famous celebrities have also admitted that they play Fortnite which helped it become more popular. The best thing about Fortnite is that they take suggestions from players and fix the problems in the game.
Competitions
Fortnite has partnered with eSports to organize Fortnite tournaments. If you are really into the gaming world then you know how big of a platform eSports is. You will find the best players of the world competing against each other. Fortnite organizes tournaments where players from all over the world participate in them to win the prize money. Even the prize money is in hundreds of thousands of dollars. So the competition is quite high. When the tip players compete against each other everyone wants to see it. In this way, it stays relevant and reaches out to more people in the world.
How does Fortnite make money?
As mentioned earlier Fortnite is free for everyone to play. This means that everyone has access to the same type of graphics and mechanics to play the game. The way it makes money is through in-game purchases. There are a few things that people can purchase using money. They can purchase items in the games using a virtual currency called V-bucks. You have to pay real money to buy this virtual currency which in turn helps you to buy other items. Let’s look at the things people can buy using virtual currency.
Skins
Skins are basically costumes that you can buy. You will only have access to default skins if you play the game for free. But if you want skins that look really cool then you have to buy them. There are skins that are based on popular heroes, villains, and comic characters. So naturally, people would want to buy them. Not only costumes but you can also customize your tools, weapons, and other accessories using these skins.
Battle passes
If you want to get the in-game rewards for free then you have to complete all the objectives that are given for the season. But if you don’t want to do all that but still get all the rewards then you can simply buy a battle pass. These premium battle passes allow players to unlock lots of in-game rewards throughout the season.
Loot boxes
These are the boxes that contain multiple items. You can buy these loot boxes if you want. The amount of money you spend on these loot boxes determine the rarity of the items you can unlock. You can unlock skins, character traits, boosts, and other items through these loot boxes.
Conclusion
This is the business model of Fortnite. It is a freemium business model that has in-app purchases. Currently, more than 350 million around the world are playing Fortnite which makes it one of the most popular and profitable games in the world. Check out other business models like the business model of Credit Karma on Zeen.
