Minnesota Twins pitcher Trevor May plays the video game Fortnite with the live game projected on the stadium screen before the Minnesota Twins play the Kansas City Royals in their baseball game on Sep. 9, 2018. (Photo by Andy King/Getty Images)
Epic Games, the video game developer behind Fortnite, grossed $3 billion in profit during 2018, according to TechCrunch. The company also received a reported valuation of nearly $15 billion from The Wall Street Journal this past September.
Fortnite, which was released in July 2017, is free to play but makes money through the sale of digital items such as skins, weapons, and other materials related to gameplay. In November, the NFL signed a licensing deal with Epic Games, allowing Fortnite users to buy uniforms representing the 32 NFL teams for their in-game characters to wear.
Epic also debuted a new digital games store earlier this month according to TechCrunch, which the company hopes will help lead to even greater profit margins in 2019. The popularity of Fortnite reached cultural phenomenon status across the globe this year, and is a driving force behind an esports industry projected to reach $1.5 billion in revenue by 2020.
The game’s popularity has extended into traditional professional sports leagues beyond the NFL. This month, the MLBPA hosted a Fortnite tournament featuring MLB stars such as Trea Turner and Lance McCullers Jr.
SportTechie Takeaway
Epic Games is also the creator of Unreal Engine, the software platform that powers the graphics to Fortnite. Fox Sports upgraded its NASCAR studio with Unreal Engine to enhance its graphics production this past October. Fortnite’s immense popularity has also led to Fortnite-based reality shows, one produced by sports media company Overtime and another by esports organization G2. Considering all the different ways Epic Games has been able to establish value through Fortnite, ending the year with $3 billion in gross profit is perhaps expected.
