Fortnite User and Growth Stats 2024
Epic Games’ free-to-play (F2P) title Fortnite, became a global smash after its release in 2017. And permeated the consciousness of even non-gaming audiences.
Half a decade later, Fortnite’s popularity may have dipped, yet the psychedelic battle royale game remains a cash cow for both publishers and streamers.
We’ll explore the stats behind the 100-person shooter’s continued success below.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn about Fortnite in 2024:
- Fortnite Usage Stats (Top Picks)
- How Many People Play Fortnite?
- How Does Fortnite Make Money?
- Fortnite Revenue
- Battle Royale Around The World
- How Many Hours Do People Spend Playing Fortnite?
- Fortnite User Demographics
- Fortnite Usage By Device
- Fortnite Streaming Stats
Fortnite Usage Stats (Top Picks)
Here are some assorted Fortnite statistics:
- There are around 650 million registered Fortnite players
- Fortnite generated over $9 billion in its first two full years since its launch
- Fortnite events increase monthly revenue by around 23%
- Around 85% of Fortnite players are aged 18 to 35
- The biggest Fortnite event had over 15 million concurrent players
- Over 13 million hours of Fortnite are streamed weekly on Twitch
For more insightful Fortnite stats, including further detail on the stats above, continue reading below.
How Many People Play Fortnite?
Fortnite became a worldwide phenomenon in a relatively short space of time. Back in August 2017, there were approximately 1 million registered players one month after launch.
By the end of 2017, this number had increased significantly to 30 million. One month into 2018, that figure had increased by 1.5x to around 45 million.
A little over a year after first launching, Fortnite’s registered players hit 200 million.
As of 2024, there are now approximately 650 million registered Fortnite players.
On an average day, 1.1 million users play Fortnite (Oct 2023).
Sources: VGChartz, BusinessofApps, Saufter
How Does Fortnite Make Money?
As a result of Fortnite’s F2P nature, Epic Games has established several other very profitable revenue streams. The most notable revenue stream is downloadable content (DLC) sales.
The vast majority of Fortnite players have bought some form of DLC.
Of the 1,000 respondents asked in February 2020, 77% claimed they had spent money on in-game purchases for Fortnite (with a further 2% preferring not to answer).
The amount spent on in-game purchases unsurprisingly increased during the first 2 years of the game’s existence.
In its first full year (2018), an average of $84.67 was spent by each Fortnite player.
By 2020, this figure had increased by around 21% to $102.42.
Considering the average price of an AAA title is roughly $60-$70, these DLC sales figures more than compensate for the lack of initial cost.
Source: VentureBeat, LendEDU, MUO
Fortnite Revenue
The undoubted popularity of Fortnite translated into revenue.
In 2018, the Epic Games generated around $5.6 billion. And despite a drop-off in the following year, it still far exceeded most other titles with approximately $4.2 billion in revenue.
However, as of 2024, projected revenue is set to exceed 2018's total, hitting $5.8 billion.
Here's a look at Epic Games revenue over time:
| Year | Epic Games Annual Revenue |
| 2018 | $5.63 billion |
| 2019 | $4.22 billion |
| 2020 | $5.1 billion |
| 2021* | $5.36 billion |
| 2022* | $5.55 billion |
| 2023* | $5.63 billion |
| 2024* | $5.82 billion |
| 2025* | $6.01 billion |
| 2026* | $6.21 billion |
*Projected figures.
Breaking down 2019’s figures further, it's evident that Fortnite's gradual decline in popularity hasn’t affected revenue too dramatically:
| Month | Special Event, Date (Type) | Revenue | Change Over Previous Month |
| Jan 2019 | Ice Storm, 19th (Major) | $350 million | - |
| Feb 2019 | Showtime, 2nd (Concert),
Earthquake, 14th-27th (Minor) | $398 million | ↑ $48 million |
| Mar 2019 | $361 million | ↓ $37 million | |
| Apr 2019 | $321 million | ↓ $40 million | |
| May 2019 | The Unvaulting, 4th (Major) | $420 million | ↑ $99 million |
| Jun 2019 | $272 million | ↓ $148 million | |
| Jul 2019 | The Final Showdown, 20th (Major),
Zero Point Destabilization, 20th-1st (Minor) | $267 million | ↓ $5 million |
| Aug 2019 | $314 million | ↑ $47 million | |
| Sep 2019 | $200 million | ↓ $114 million | |
| Oct 2019 | The End (Chapter 1), 13th (Major) | $272 million | ↑ $72 million |
| Nov 2019 | $190 million | ↓ $82 million | |
| Dec 2019 | Live At Risky, 14th (Star Wars Collab) | $340 million | ↑ $150 million |
Looking at the data, it’s clear that Epic Games has profited from its semi-regular special events.
Excluding January, 4 of 5 months that featured special events saw an increase in revenue over the previous month.
The only exception was July, which featured two events starting late in the month – the $47 million increase in August may well be influenced by the interest generated from those events.
The total revenue generated in the 6 months with events equaled $2.047 billion. By comparison, $1.658 billion was generated in the non-event months – a difference of 23.46% and $389 million.
Source: Epic Games, Eurogamer, The Verge, Fortnite Wiki
Battle Royale Around the World
Fortnite’s genre, known as battle royale, has rapidly become one of the most popular in video games across the globe.
A January 2021 survey showed that 68% of gamers worldwide play battle royale games.
Here’s a breakdown of battle royale players across various markets:
| Market | Percentage of Battle Royale Players | Top Gaming Genre | Difference |
| China | 89.8% | Casual Single Player (93.6%) | 3.8% |
| Germany | 53.6% | Casual Single Player (83%) | 29.4% |
| India | 82.8% | Casual Single Player (93.8%) | 11% |
| Indonesia | 74.6% | Casual Single Player (87%) | 12.4% |
| South Korea | 63.2% | Casual Single Player (79.2%) | 16% |
| United Kingdom | 49.4% | Casual Single Player (88.4%) | 39% |
| United States | 46.6% | Casual Single Player (85.2%) | 39.6% |
| Vietnam | 84.2% | Casual Single Player (92.6%) | 8.4% |
| Worldwide | 68% | Casual Single Player (87.9%) | 19.9% |
Taking a closer look at the United States, around 4 in 10 (41%) gamers are active battle royale players.
Comparatively, 38% say they do not actively play battle royale games. This means that more US gamers actively play games in this genre (like Fortnite) than do not.
Source: Limelight Networks, Newzoo
How Many Hours Do People Spend Playing Fortnite?
A 2020 survey questioned 1,000 Fortnite players on their weekly playing habits.
Considering the average American spent 14.8 hours per week playing video games in 2020, these figures suggest that many Fortnite players spent the majority of their gaming time on the title.
The results also revealed that:
- 7 in 10 Fortnite players play under 10 hours per week
- “0-5 hours” was the most common answer
- 1 in 20 Fortnite players play over 21+ hours each week
Here is a detailed look at the numbers:
| Number of Hours Per Week | Percentage |
| 0 to 5 Hours | 36% |
| 6 to 10 Hours | 34% |
| 11 to 15 Hours | 17% |
| 16 to 20 Hours | 8% |
| 21 Hours or More | 5% |
Unsurprisingly, Fortnite users surge during special events. And Epic Games have taken full advantage of this:
| Date | Event | Concurrent Players |
| November 2018 | Destruction of the Purple Cube | 8.3 million |
| February 2019 | Marshmello Concert | 10.7 million |
| April 2020 | Travis Scott Concert | 12.3 million |
| November 2020 | Galactus Event | 15.3 million |
| Novemeber 2023 | Fortnite OG | 44.7 million |
| December 2023 | The Big Bang Event: A New Beginning for Fortnite | 11.6 mllion |
Source: LendEDU, Marketing Charts, The Verge, Fortnite
Fortnite User Demographics
The distribution of Fortnite players is heavily skewed towards younger players.
A 2018 analysis in the US found that over half (62.7%) of players are aged 18 to 24 years.
In fact, in December 2022, Epic Games received a hefty fine totaling $275 million for violating children's privacy.
A further 22.5% of players are aged between 25 to 34 years.
Meanwhile, around 1 in 8 (12.7%) Fortnite players fall in the 35 to 44 years category.
Just 2% of Fortnite players are aged 45+ (45 to 54 years).
That same survey also revealed that 72.4% of Fortnite players are male. While just over 1 in 4 (27.6%) are female.
Source: Verto Analytics
Fortnite Usage by Device
Fortnite’s global appeal spanned across multiple devices.
Consoles are comfortably the device of choice for Fortnite players. Followed by computers and mobile.
Here’s the full breakdown of the numbers from 2018’s survey:
| Device | Share of Respondents Using it to Play Fortnite |
| PlayStation 4 | 42.2% |
| Xbox One | 35.2% |
| Computer | 13.9% |
| Mobile Phone | 8.7% |
In fact, Fortnite has been so popular among console users that it topped all other console titles in December 2020:
| Title | Monthly Active Users | Difference to Fortnite |
| Fortnite | 24.4 million | - |
| Call of Duty MW/Warzone | 22 million | 2.4 million |
| GTA V | 20.1 million | 4.3 million |
| Black Ops CW | 16.4 million | 8 million |
| Rocket League | 15.2 million | 9.2 million |
As of May 2024, Fortnite topped the Xbox and PS5 charts for monthly active users. And only trailed Minecraft and Roblox on PC.
Sources: LendEDU, Newzoo, Newzoo (2)
Fortnite Streaming Stats
Streaming and Fortnite have gone hand-in-hand since the game’s launch. And despite a drop-off from its peak popularity, Fortnite is still one of the top dogs when it comes to streaming viewers.
In fact, it’s worth noting the longevity of many of the titles in the following tables – perhaps an indication of Fortnite’s potential for enduring success.
Here’s a look at the most popular games on Twitch (in terms of monthly hours watched) in June/July 2024:
| Rank | Title | Release Year | Total Monthly Hours |
| 1 | Just Chatting | 2020 | 236.75 million |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto V | 2013 | 102.54 million |
| 3 | Elden Ring | 101.94 million | |
| 4 | League of Legends | 2009 | 85.1 million |
| 5 | Valorant | 2020 | 78.4 million |
| 6 | Dota 2 | 42.99 million | |
| 7 | Fortnite | 2017 | 36.53 million |
| 8 | Special Events | - | 34.55 million |
| 9 | Counter-Strike | 2023 | 27.36 million |
| 10 | Call of Duty: Warzone | 2020 | 27.07 million |
Sources: SullyGnome, TwitchTracker
Conclusion
Fortnite’s unprecedented worldwide success has been a driving force for many other titles in the F2P format and the battle royale genre.
In 2024, the game remains relevant. And continues to attract players, viewers, and collaborations.
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