Fortnite May Cannibalize the AAA Market, Some Analysts Believe

There is not a single doubt in our minds that Fortnite has taken the online gaming world by storm. [...]

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There is not a single doubt in our minds that Fortnite has taken the online gaming world by storm. The title first broke into the market with its Save the World mode, and then later added on the free-to-play Battle Royale mode to compete with the likes of the infamous PUBG. That seemed to be the right move, because the shooter has overtaken PUBG's long list of records quite a few times already and is not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The game itself has an incredible amount of attention on it from the insane number of players currently active, to the growing list of celebrities sharing their public love for that Victory Royale life. As popularity continues to soar from the latest title from Epic Games, Microsoft has reported that it is the "most played" game currently, even beating out the tried and true Minecraft.

Despite its rocky start for being called a "copycat" of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, the game quickly earned its own reputation for being a separate experience. A large part of this is due to Epic Games' committed involvement with the title, making sure every week there is something new and exciting to partake in as well as new items. Pair that with the unique building mechanics the game has to offer, and it's pretty clear that Fortnite is a winner.

But not everyone is a fan. Financial analysts all over the world are hesitantly curious about what effect this will have on the gaming market:

"We believe the strong growth of Fortnite creates tactical risk to the video game publishers and could limit potential upside to consensus numbers," KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Evan Wingren wrote in a note to clients last week. "The game is gaining momentum in Western markets, which is likely to impact engagement for all AAA games to some degree. We believe Fortnite is growing the overall gaming TAM [total addressable market], but some cannibalization is likely."

Wingren believes that this will only further the monetization motivation for online games and the publishers that push them. Since 2017 was all about the loot boxes and "how far is too far," it's a valid concern to have but not for the reason you think.

The analyst noted that he believed microtransactions would make an even bigger comeback as an effort to compete with a game like Fortnite. That worry is only going to increase, because the title is set to dominate yet another platform: mobile.

(via CNBC)

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