ATVI Activision Blizzard Inc

By Sarah E. Needleman 

Teenagers -- and their parents -- are raving about "Fortnite." The question now is whether its creator, Epic Games Inc., can turn buzz into profits.

"Fortnite" wasn't a big hit when it went on sale in July for $40. To attract more interest, Epic Games made an unusual decision: It created a free version alongside the paid game.

Since then, Epic Games has struggled at times to keep its "Fortnite" servers running as players rushed to play online with friends while chatting together through headsets.

Epic Games declined to disclose sales of "Fortnite," which launched in beta in July. By early January, it said, the game had drawn 40 million players across the paid and free modes, putting it in league with Activision Blizzard Inc.'s hit "Overwatch."

"It's all they talk about," said Glen Irvin, a teacher coach at a high school in Sauk Rapids, Minn., said of "Fortnite"-playing students. "The only other game I've ever heard kids get this passionate about is 'Minecraft.' "

"Fortnite," which is available on consoles such as the PlayStation 4 as well as PCs, mixes two popular genres: It is a building game like "Minecraft" and a traditional shoot-'em-up.

Multiplayer games that let friends play and talk together online have been around for years. The free version of "Fortnite," though, solves a problem: Since buying the game isn't a barrier to play, fewer friends are left out.

Parents and players also appreciate that contests typically last around 20 minutes -- less if you don't survive -- so players can pop out to do chores or homework and quickly join another match.

Jen Mandarino of Saddle Brook, N.J., doesn't mind that her sons, ages 11 and 13, play "Fortnite" for about two hours a day after school.

"I like the fact that if they're not outside playing with their friends, they're at least still interacting" with them, said Ms. Mandarino. "I remember being a child and playing Atari and Nintendo in a room all by myself."

For Valentine's Day, she got them custom-made "Fortnite" sweatshirts.

The free mode of "Fortnite" mimics a style of play popularized by the 2017 hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," in which 100 players fight to be the last person or team standing -- basically akin to the book "The Hunger Games."

Epic Games is planning to make the main version of "Fortnite" free later in the year. So far, it has made at least $157 million off the free mode since late September by selling virtual goods such as character costumes, according to an estimate from SuperData Research.

Selling in-game items can be polarizing, though less so when a game is free to play. A fan backlash in November led Electronic Arts Inc. to temporarily reverse its decision to add in-game purchases to its "Star Wars Battlefront" sequel.

On Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s recent earnings call, Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick dismissed the idea of giving away a console game after an analyst noted the "Fortnite" free mode's popularity.

Mr. Zelnick said only a fraction of players spend on in-game purchases. "That's not going to support the very significant investment that a triple A title requires here and in our competitors' shops," he said.

Thomas Fuller, an eighth-grader in Brooklyn, N.Y., said he downloaded the "Fortnite" free mode mainly because many of his friends did. With other multiplayer games he owned, only a few pals had them, too.

It took some nudging to get Thomas to explain the game's appeal in a phone interview. He apologized -- he was distracted playing "Fortnite."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 16, 2018 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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