‘Fortnite’ Creator Denies Revenue Decline Reported By Nielsen, But Still Won’t Share Numbers

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Credit: Epic Games

Topline: The gaming industry is known for its secrecy around financials, and companies like Nielsen's SuperData have become crucial in filling the gap, but in an unprecedented move, Fortnite's Epic Games is calling into question the data analyst’s assertion that its battle royale game is in declineâ€"without actually sharing revenue figures to dispute them.

SuperData reported last week that January console spending was down 42% because of Fortnite and the game's "earnings continued their gradual decline and hit their lowest level since November 2017," two months after the introduction of its battle royale game mode.

Following this, Epic Games sent a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, saying "SuperData does not and has not ever had access to Epic's Fortnite revenue data," and that "We are disappointed that SuperData has repeatedly published wildly inaccurate reports about Fortnite based on what we believe is questionable methodology."

SuperData shot back, stating it stands behind its estimates because it has "a proven methodology and validation process."

Earlier this year, SuperData estimated Fortnite was the top free-to-play game in 2019 with $1.8 billion, a decrease from its $2.4 billion estimate in 2018.

Epic Games also stated that, "While we do not and have not publicly shared revenue numbers for Fortnite, we will say that SuperData's reports do not align with reality."

Big Number: $4.5 billion. That's Forbes' estimate of Epic Games CEO and cofounder Tim Sweeney's net worth, driven by the rise of Fortnite.

Further Reading: Epic Games is spending its Fortnite cash trying to eke away at Steam's stranglehold on the digital games distribution market. Part of that is offering free games each week to customers that already have hefty backlogs. It seems to be working as, in little over a year, the store has grossed $680 million.

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