The "Fortnite" phenomenon turns the game developer Epic into a billionaire

Tim Sweeney made "Fortnite" a phenomenon by doing something that seems crazy: he abandoned it.

This strategy has made him a billionaire.

In an industry where everything is blocked by monsters. like "Candy Crush" and "Pokémon Go", the popularity of "Fortnite" is not surprising. His business figure is. Between the release of the current version in September and the end of May, "Fortnite" reported more than $ 1.2 billion, according to SuperData Research. In early June, 125 million people played

which resulted in an increase in Epic Games revenues, created by Sweeney Company in the basement of his parents 27 years ago. "Fortnite" alone is on track to generate $ 2 billion this year, which makes the North Carolina gaming maker $ 5- $ 8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. Sweeney is the controlling shareholder

"Fortnite" is a global phenomenon, obsessively played by children, rappers, professional athletes and middle-aged accountants. It is a royal fight, where players face each other in a fight for weapons, resources and survival on a storm-ravaged island.

Over $ 40 for the game, players buy online V-bucks, a virtual currency that they can exchange during the game for outfits, skins called, festive dances or special missions that can cost up to $ 20 each. Said Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst Michael Pachter. Many "Fortnite" store accessories are available on a limited basis, prompting players to buy before the coveted items disappear from virtual shelves. "If you see another player in a leopard skin and go to the store and see that he's no longer available, you think, Shoot, I have to go next time."

All this trade is reflected in some of the analysts say the value of Epic has exploded alongside Fortnite's success, said Timothy O. Shea, who covers the games at Jefferies Financial. According to the value of its peers Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard, Epic could be worth up to $ 14 billion, but potential buyers would ask for a rebate because of questions about Fortin's growth potential, O & # 39; Shea. I said. Even though sales were expected to fall to $ 1 billion a year – half of its current estimate – the company could still reasonably command $ 7.5 billion in a sale, Pachter said.

This is a boon to Sweeney and the Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings 40% of Epic in 2012 at a valuation of $ 825 million. We still do not know what impact "Fortnite" had on the balance sheet of Tencent. Three analysts who cover Chinese society said that they had not yet considered the game in their ratings of the sum of the coins.

While most games reach their maximum popularity shortly after their release, "Fortnite" new users six months later, thanks to a broadly appealing aesthetic that is more of a comic mischief than a graphic violence. Fans of celebrities such as rapper Drake and Josh Hart of the Los Angeles Lakers have pushed it further into mainstream consciousness. French football star Antoine Griezmann celebrated a goal in the World Cup final by performing the "Take-the-L" dance of the game.

Like a social game, easy to play and difficult to master, it has has been a success with school-aged children, raising concerns of teachers and parents reporting obsessive play during the course.

"Fortnite" is no bolt of blue for the epic. The previous biggest success of the developer was "Gears of War", a successful franchise for Microsoft's Xbox 360. Epic also owns Unreal Engine, one of two operating systems widely used by developers to build games. At first, Epic asked the customers to use the software. Sales took off when Sweeney made the product free and instead started collecting a royalty on game sales made using software, which included hits like "Mass Effect" and "Batman: Arkham" [19659012]. paid product. Launched in July 2017 in the form of a $ 40 version where players were building forts to defend against hordes of zombies, the game really took off after Epic had released it and added the style of multi-combat game

. At the E3 last year, the big industry show, Epic showed some journalists the hidden game in a meeting room. At this year's conference, the Epic booth was entirely dedicated to "Fortnite", with a replica of the bus in which players go to the beginning of the game and opportunities for fans to play in dance and hang gliding videos. That week, Epic presented its first Celebrity Pro-Am "Fortnite" with guests such as comedian Joel McHale and professional Ninja (real name Tyler Blevins) competing in a football stadium. In May, Epic announced that it would provide $ 100 million to fund awards for "Fortnite" competitions.

At the Epic office, located in a suburb of Raleigh at the corner of a shopping center, employees have their choice of ice cream pockets. There is a games room, a slide between two floors and giant sculptures of some of the game characters.

Raised in the suburbs of Potomac, Md., Sweeney quickly showed talent for gaming and business . At age 11, he learns to program using the Apple computer's family and makes a hobby of dissecting electronics. At the age of 15, he quit his job at a hardware store after noticing that everyone was getting the same hourly pay regardless of the level of difficulty. Instead, he borrowed his father's tractor and started trimming the neighbors' lawns, cutting off professional landscapers, according to an interview in 2011 with the Kotaku video game site. Sweeney began designing his own games at the age of 21, packing them on floppy disks and mailing them out. "Tim Sweeney is a legendary character," said Joost van Dreunen, managing director of SuperData Research. on the game industry. "He is a hard worker, with a clear vision of what he wants to do."

Despite millions of captivating players, Sweeney is not really a player. He is a conservation enthusiast and one of the largest private landlords in North Carolina. After the financial crisis, he bought thousands of hectares, mainly in the mountains, with the aim of creating nature reserves.

Sweeney often wanders in the epic office, leaving large cups of soda in his wake. He advocates a concoction of 60% water and 40% Coca-Cola in the company's fountains.

In a 10-year-old online video, Sweeney goes around his big house. The perpetual single says that he had never eaten in the elegant dining room and preferred to take away to Burger King. He already owned several sports cars, including a Lamborghini, but he sold most of them. He drives a 2019 Corvette.

"It turns out that a fast car is a great hobby when one is workaholic, because even when one does not have any free time you can always go to work, "he said.