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Game development company Epic Games, famously known for creating the hit Battle Royale Fortnite, has made $3 billion in profits in 2018. The company's valuation has now gone up to $15 billion. The report and figures were published by the Wall Street Journal.
Epic Games has not commented on its revenue figures. However, their 125 million player-strong game, Fortnite, has allowed them to make huge profits. Fortnite's free to play model has attracted many players from around the globe. Their premium service only includes skins and cosmetics with absolutely no effect on gameplay. This business model is followed by some other free to play games such as Dota 2 and it seems to work.
Epic Games also recently opened up their Epic Games Store, where they give developers an 88% cut for selling their titles while Epic takes 12%. Epic Games Store is now directly competing with Steam, having taken down their titles from Steam and put them on their store. They have also offered free games for users to play.
Before the Fortnite craze, Epic Games were known for their game engine Unreal Engine which many games still use. Epic's profile has been boosted after Chinese conglomerate Tencent invested $330 million into the game for a 40% stake in the company.
Want to know what items might feature in the shop tomorrow? Check out our predictions for tomorrow's Fortnite Item Shop
Fortnite also gained popularity from streamers such as Ninja and Marshmello. Ninja has over a million viewers and subscribers on Twitch and is one of the most watched streamers. He has also had gaming sessions with Tottenham football players Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
One of the most watched streams is with Ninja, rapper Drake, rapper Travis Scott and NFL Star Juju Smith-Schuster. The endorsements received from these streams have earned Epic Games a lot of money.
With the Unreal Engine and their famous Gears of War series, Epic has never had a problem with profits. But they seem to understand the business model for gaming well enough and how to engage with their players.
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The Battle Bus is heading into Fortnite! Check out the final Fortnite item shop today!
