For a “free-to-play” game Fortnite’s Battle Royale generates boatloads (or treasure chest-loads) of revenue, encouraging players to drop-in, load up and upgrade with surprisingly subtle, sticky masterclasses in audience engagement.
But there’s some good news for parents of overspending offspring… now your little menace can earn some money back; Battle Royalers are hitting the esports arenas. Your little prodigy (or even you, yourself) can now “go pro”.
After just 16 months since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds [PUBG] launched on Stream and became a runaway (literally) success, the first official global esports tournament for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, went to war in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, a 17,000-capacity venue. PUBG is one of the best-known games in the “battle royale” genre (the other, of course, being Fortnite), selling over a million copies in less than a month and making more than $100 million revenue in its first three months.
The global tournament marks the first major push at evolving a Battle Royale style game into an esport, with professional players and big prizes, plus all the challenges of converting a game that comprises dozens of simultaneous players and a large dollop of unpredictability into a spectator sport.
And others are taking note. Battlefield, EA’s epic shooter franchise, will feature Battle Royale gameplay for the first time when Battlefield V launches later this year. All’s fair in love and war.
Your move, Fortnite.
And just as the games start to pile in, so will the big betting brands, which will bring more money into the game and sport. So while gaming brands need to place their stake in the Battle Royale esport boom, they may also do well to support betting brands joining in the action. Share the treasure chest and it might just grow a lot faster.
So grab your squad, strap in and get ready for the big prize money to start flowing.
Let the Battle Royale commence.