Fortnite: The most famous of the three-game modes is Fortnite’s free-to-play battle royale mode.
According to Epic’s financial records disclosed in its court case against Apple, Fortnite made over $9 billion, or over Rs. 66,448 crore, in its first two years of release. Epic and Apple are reportedly involved in a legal dispute over App Store policies and procedures. New financial records made public as part of the court case reveal that, in addition to sales earned by Fortnite, Epic was expected to rake in $3.5 billion (roughly Rs. 25,855 crores) in gross revenue in 2020, but it made over $5 billion (roughly Rs. 36,898 crores).
Epic also filed a lawsuit against Apple over the latter’s App Store rules, which required developers to pay Apple up to a 30% break. According to The Verge, new financial statements from Epic have emerged in court, revealing the developer’s and digital game store’s profits for 2018 and 2019. Fortnite, Epic’s most valuable commodity, made over $5.4 billion (roughly Rs. 39,900 crore) in its first year (2018) and over $3.7 billion (roughly Rs. 27,340 crores) the next year, bringing the amount to over $9 billion (roughly Rs. 66,448 crores). In 2018, it made $8 million (roughly Rs. 59 crores) and $100 million (roughly Rs. 738 crores) from its other games.
Epic’s most valuable asset, as shown by financial statements, is Fortnite. It contains the most common of the three-game modes, a free-to-play battle royale mode. Character and weapon skins, glider skins, and other cosmetic in-app purchases are available. In 2018, Epic’s production engine made $124 million (roughly Rs. 915 crores) and $97 million (roughly Rs. 716 crores) in revenue. In 2018, the Epic Games Store took in $2 million (roughly Rs. 14.76 crores), and in 2019, it brought in $233 million (roughly Rs. 1,720 crores).
Epic’s total sales in 2018 were $5.6 billion (roughly Rs. 41,343 crores), down 25% from $4.2 billion in 2019. (roughly Rs. 31,007 crores). Epic was expected to pull in $3.5 billion in 2020, according to the document’s forecast. However, Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO, claims the firm made $5.1 billion (roughly Rs. 37,674 crores) in sales in 2020, according to a tweet by a New York Times reporter covering the Epic vs. Apple situation.
According to the New York Times writer, Fortnite on the App Store was launched in 2018 and raised about $1 billion (roughly Rs. 7,387 crores), of which 30% had to be paid to Apple. The game was pulled from the App Store in August 2020 after it implemented its billing scheme, and there are no plans to get it back at this time. Apple cut the App Store revenue rate to 15% for developers who receive up to $1 million (roughly Rs. 7.38 crores) in gross revenues from all their apps in November of last year.