Fortnite phenomenon returns multimillionaire to epic game creator | Trade | Economy | Business



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Tim Sweeney transformed Fortnite into a phenomenon by doing something that seems crazy: he offered it for free. The strategy has made him a multimillionaire

In an industry filled with monstrous success, such as Candy Crush and Pokemon Go the popularity of Fortnite n & # Is not surprising. but your income is. Between the publication of the current version in September and the end of May, Fortnite generated more than 1.2 billion US dollars according to SuperData Research. By the beginning of June, 125 million people had gambled there

which resulted in an increase in the revenues of Epic Games Inc., the Sweeney company created in the basement of his parents there 27 years. Fortnite is only generating $ 2 billion this year, which would make the game maker based in Cary, North Carolina, worth between $ 5 billion and $ 8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index . Sweeney, 47, is the majority shareholder

Fortnite is a global phenomenon, obsessively played by children, rappers, professional athletes, and middle-aged accountants. This is a video game of the genre "royal battle" with cartoon characters who are fighting to death trying to be the last alive, where the players are fighting each other for a fight for weapons, resources and survival on a devastated island.

Rather than spending more than $ 40 for the video game players buy online turkeys (V-bucks), a virtual currency that they can trade during the game against combinations, " From the point of view of income, they have done something that is truly unique, which has generated a perception of exclusivity, "said Michael Pachter. , an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. Many accessories in the Fortnite store are available on a limited basis, which causes players to buy before the coveted items disappear from them.

"If you see another player with a leopard skin and you go to the store and you see that it is no longer available, you think: the hell! I have to hurry up the next time. "

All of this trading translates into some of the industry's highest per-user revenue rates and operating margins of over 50%, according to analysts.

"The evaluation of Epic is He fired with the success of Fortnite," said Timothy O. Shea, who covers the games of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

According to the Numbers Commercial peers like Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Blizzard Inc., Epic could have a value up to 14,000 million US dollars, although potential buyers are demanding a discount because of doubts about whether Fortnite could support revenue growth, said O. Shea.

Even though sales fell to $ 1 billion a year Pachter said: [TRADUCTION]

This is a boon to Sweeney and the Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., which bought 40% of Epic in 2012 for a valuation of 825 million dollars. It's still unclear what impact Fortnite had on Tencent's record

Famous fans like rapper Drake and Josh Hart of the Los Angeles Lakers have again carried it into the collective consciousness. French football star Antoine Griezmann celebrated a goal in the World Cup final this month by playing the game "Take the Pringado"

as a social game, easy to play and difficult to master, has been a particular success among school-aged children, which has aroused the concerns of teachers and parents who say that children play obsessively during class.

Fortnite also started as a paid product. Launched in July 2017 as a $ 40 version where players were building forts to repel hordes of zombies, the game really took off after Epic did it for free and added the fighting style of several fighters.

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