‘Fortnite’ is worldwide gaming sensation
Free online hit makes millions on players who customize to stand out.
For Brendan Hickey, purchasing custom features for his character in the online game “Fortnite” was about standing out.
He can now do the electro shuffle. Eat popcorn, dribble a basketball or swing a “plunja” pickaxe. Do any of these help the 22-year-old jump to the next level, get more lives or give him an advantage in fighting his opponents in one of the world’s most popular online games? Nope.
The $140 to $160 he estimates shelling out on “Fortnite” purchases since October helps him stand out in the game and bond with friends that also play the online contest.
“It’s the first time we’ve all been excited to get on and play Xbox together,” said Hickey, a recent University of Connecticut graduate who says his friends are getting ready to disperse around the country. “Its the same as going out and getting like, a beer or getting a bite to eat with the guys.”
He has company. Its 125 million players have made “Fortnite” the highest-grossing free-to-play game. Everyone from athletes and celebrities to school-age kids drop onto the game’s brightly colored maps each day, battling to outlast each match’s 99 other opponents, with many spending money to cus-
tomize their characters.
In May, the game generated $318 million in revenue for North Carolinabased Epic Games, according to SuperData Research, beating out other stalwart console games such as Electronic Arts’ “FIFA 18” and Activision’s “Call of Duty: WWII” in paid downloads and ingame purchases and topping “Pokemon Go” at its peak.
When gamers fire up the game, they are bringing their realworld wallets with them.
Buying skins or cosmetics, these outfits and get-ups let players show their personality and allegiance with friends and online competitors. In a study of 1,000 “Fortnite” players by LendEDU, nearly 69 percent of players spent money on in-game purchases, with the amount spent averaging $84.67.
“It’s almost like younger players are treating ‘Fortnite’ skins like action figures,” said Carter Rogers, a principal analyst at SuperData. “It has really become a part of the culture to have the latest skin, the latest fashion.”
The cash windfall from players buying custom outfits, say a basketball jersey or a hip dance move, marks a new trend for online gaming. In the past, gaming publishers have sold in-game features, but the notion of having players buy their way into higher levels courted controversy.
With “Fortnite,” players don’t get better at vanquishing their opponents by acquiring a new outfit. But it heightens the allure of the game, feeding what already has become an obsession for many people.
The popularity of “Fortnite” has caused schools and teachers to complain students are sneaking it in class and playing on their phones. Epic Games has a warning to the game’s loading screen cautioning students to set the screens aside.
Take Asher Kim, a 14-year-old who lives in Georgia, who estimates he plays roughly 36 hours a week “unless I’m grounded.”
What’s the attraction? It’s addictive, competitive and “like the ‘Hunger Games,’ except with guns.”
Dance moves or “emotes” players can purchase, some of which are copied from rap artists, have become such a hit they’re showing up during national sporting events.
At Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, several players spoke of their love of the video game, with a Fox promo showing a few re-enacting some of their favorite dances. During Sunday’s World Cup Final between France and Croatia, France’s Antoine Griezmann celebrated his goal by doing the game’s “Take the L” dance, a move that has been popularized by “Fortnite.”
For frequent players of the game, having a skin can also be seen as a virtual sign that you are not a rookie, or “noob” in the game.
Preston William Otterson, a 24-year radio host from Lakeville, Minnesota, has been playing “Fortnite” for close to six months, lured into the game by its free aspect.
At first, he didn’t spend anything. But after getting called out online by his friends for being a “no skin” – an insult to players who are just using the game’s free, standard avatars – he decided to put some money into it.
“I have spent probably around $80, which is more than I’ve ever spent on a video game,” Otterson says, spending the cash to purchase outfits, dances and axes.
Cody Sipe, a special investigator for a company that does background checks for the government, uses “Fortnite” to connect with his younger brothers.
From Chesapeake, Virginia, Sipe, 24, and his brothers are scattered across the U.S., one of whom is in military training in California with the other about to go off to college in Florida. “We’re all guys, we don’t really call each other on the phone very often,” Sipe says. “We bond over either being on the same team or joking about who has the worst stats ... who has the cooler looking outfits and stuff like that.”
Like other online games, players can chat and communicate using a headset plugged into their controllers. Though not all sessions are talkative.
“Sometimes we’ll sit on there for an hour and only share, like, 10 words because we are busy playing a game,” Sipe says.
As for his purchases, Sipe says he’ll drop a few bucks on a skin or outfit if he thinks it looks cool. One of his favorites: “Wingman,” a “Top Gun”-like outfit similar to the jumpsuit sported by Tom Cruise in the popular 1986 movie.
“I had a moment of weakness where I was like ‘Hell yeah, I want to look like Tom Cruise in ‘ Top Gun’ ” so I bought it,” Sipe says with a laugh.