It’s pointless to spend much time saying how much of a cultural juggernaut Fortnite has become. When a game is popular enough to officially crossover with franchises like Avengers, Stranger Things, and Star Wars on a regular basis, its success is obvious. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise many to hear that Fortnite continues to be the highest-grossing video game out there, even after seeing a noticeable decrease in revenue in 2019.

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From the data provided, it’s clear that Fortnite has more than succeeded in compelling players to spend money on the free-to-play title through its vast selection of cosmetic items and battle passes. Not only that, it’s managed to keep its player base engaged through a busy 2019 that saw multiple in-game events take place, the most dramatic of which being “The End” of Fortnite that left the game unplayable for a few days ahead of its big Chapter 2 relaunch.

Overall, free-to-play games dominated the gaming market last year, with in-game purchases from these (especially mobile games) accounting for a colossal 74% of all money spent on digital games, contributing to a year-over-year increase of 4% across the entire industry, according to SuperData. By contrast, premium games saw a year-over-year decrease of 5%, largely due to 2019 seeing fewer AAA releases than 2018, a year that saw the debut of hugely-anticipated games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Monster Hunter World.

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Fortnite chapter 2 cover art

Going back to Fortnite, it’s possible the game may see further decline in popularity during the coming year, given the ever-growing competition in both the free-to-play market and the battle royale genre it currently reigns over. That said, Epic Games continues to offer players new events and content (as well as new features like split-screen support), suggesting Fortnite won’t be slowing down much in 2020. As such, the game has a strong chance of showing up at the top of SuperData’s review of 2020 a year from now.

Fortnite is free-to-play on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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Source: SuperData