Epic Games’ Fortnite: Battle Royale has been rising in player counts, Twitch viewers and downloads while PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has seemingly floundered. That’s not hyperbole either – analytics firm SuperData revealed in a recent report that the free to play title hit $126 million revenue in February 2018. This is on PC and consoles while PUBG only averaged $103 million.
It was also noted that peak revenue for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was in December at the launch of version 1.0 and the Xbox One version’s release. There’s still plenty for PUBG Corp to be happy about as the title garnered $712 million revenue for 2017.
However, Fortnite: Battle Royale currently has the advantage thanks to being free to play, available to players on PS4 as well as Xbox One and PC, and having an easier learning curve. SuperData also stated that it’s fairly “kid friendly thanks to its cartoonish looks.” The mobile version, which is invite-only on iOS, earned $1.5 million revenue in its first three days.
PUBG’s “slowing trajectory” could be attributed to the amount of cheating present with the company believing that PUBG Corp is spending more on battling cheaters as opposed to creating new content. It also doesn’t help that there are several “competitors biting at PUBG’s heels,” and that’s only set to “get more fierce” in the coming days.
“Major publishers like Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft have the potential to bring AAA-level production values to the subgenre. PUBG is no longer the biggest battle royale game in town. But it still has an edge over games that have yet to come out, giving it time to correct its course and carve out a major share of the market for years to come.”
SuperData thinks that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds can remain relevant by sticking to its realistic gameplay. “Potential battle royale competitors from AAA studios will likely cater to beginners,” says the report. “PUBG can position itself as a more serious alternative, much like how hardcore shooters like Rainbow Six: Siege found success even if they appeal to a smaller audience than Call of Duty. PUBG’s developers need to quickly get past the cheating issues so they can flesh out the game and add content on a more regular basis.”
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