'Fortnite' made nearly half a billion dollars on just Apple devices in 2018, according to a new report
- "Fortnite" is a money-making behemoth.
- The game reportedly generated just shy of $500 million in revenue in 2018 - and that's only on Apple's devices.
- In December 2018 alone, the game reportedly made just under $70 million on Apple devices.
"Fortnite" continues to dominate the attention of tens of millions of players around the world.
Despite the fact that it's a free game, "Fortnite" brings in hundreds of millions of dollars through sales of virtual items, sales of virtual money, and the ever-important seasonal Battle Pass.
The game is available on seven different gaming platforms, but it's perhaps most popular on Apple's ubiquitous iPhone and iPad.
It's no surprise, then, that "Fortnite" is estimated to have grossed over $455 million in iOS revenue in 2018.
That's according to analytics firm Sensor Tower, which says 82.6 million people worldwide have downloaded the game on iOS devices since the game's mobile launch in April 2018.
To be all the way clear, that means "Fortnite" reportedly grossed nearly half a billion dollars on only Apple devices, and it did so in just eight months of availability. Not too shabby!
Of course, these are only estimates. "Fortnite" maker Epic Games hasn't released any official revenue figures and remains a private company. But the latest figures appear to be in line with previous reports about the direction and momentum of "Fortnite's" revenue.
Keeping its own cut
Broken down further, "Fortnite" is said to have made $1.6 million each day on Apple's devices; if Apple is pulling in its standard cut of 30%, Apple made somewhere in the realm of $136.5 million on "Fortnite" in 2018.
With that kind of money at stake, it's no wonder Epic Games launched "Fortnite" on Android without Google's help - you simply download the game directly from Epic's website. That lets Epic sidestep the Google Play store cut and keep all the revenue to itself when Android users download the game on their phones.
We don't know how much revenue "Fortnite" has generated on Android devices. Sensor Tower's estimates are only for iOS.
As a general rule, Apple iPhone users tend to spend more money than Android users on mobile apps and in-app purchases. But outside of the US, Android is the dominant mobile platform, with a roughly 80% market share. That means "Fortnite's" global Android revenue, which Epic keeps 100% of, may add up to a nice chunk of change.
Not a bad first year for a game.