Last week, SuperData released a thinkpiece on how Fortnite isn’t necessarily destroying the rest of the gaming industry, but hold up because this week it’s focusing on games that are indeed floundering in Epic’s wake. “Despite claims of an industry-wide growth spurt carried by Fortnite’s success, several signs indicate material cannibalization across top incumbent franchises,” its new piece begins.
“There exists considerable overlap between the consumer profile of a Fortnite player and that of people playing League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch. Audiences that like these titles generally also enjoy watching others play on streaming sites like Twitch. In terms of online viewership, we’re observing the following: in Q2 total hours watched were up +59% for Fortnite, compared to League of Legends (-19%), CS:GO (-51%) and Overwatch (-16%).”
Interestingly, SuperData seems to be needling companies like EA, Activision-Blizzard, and Microsoft, which have all downplayed the impact of Fortnite on their own bottom lines. For example, the analysts argue that without Fortnite, the gaming industry has actually taken a significant downturn.
“After a period of growth, the market is set to return to its usual zero-sum dynamic,” the firm writes. “More so, instead of raising all the boats, several of the big tentpole titles are seeing a decline, suggesting that Fortnite has been obfuscating a broader market correction among incumbent game makers.”
Around the net, SensorTower notes that Fortnite’s mobile version is averaging $2M a day in revenue, while Bloomberg suggests Epic is now “worth as much as $14 billion.”
