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Library/Game/Fortnite Battle Royale
Grade B26 sourcesHIS-00164

Fortnite Battle Royale

Game · 2017 · Viral

Made by Epic Games in-house · Source

66Editable slideCertificate

Epic reported 3.7 million daily active Battle Royale players within weeks.

Trailer · PlayStation on YouTube
Trailer · Fortnite on YouTube
Clip · Wisecrack on YouTube
Fortnite Battle Royale Launches September 26
Epic Games
Fortnite – Battle Royale Announce Trailer | PS4
PlayStation on YouTube
Fortnite Battle Royale - Gameplay Trailer (Play Free Now!)
Fortnite on YouTube
Fortnite Multiplayer Video Game
TIME
Epic Games Case Study | Pixly
Pixly
Why Fortnite Makes Billions – Wisecrack Edition
Wisecrack on YouTube
Monopoly: Fortnite Edition Rules and Instructions - Hasbro
Hasbro
Fortnite Getting Battle Royale Mode
Game Informer
Epic didn't pay Drake or Ninja for their record-setting stream
PCGamesN
Why Children Love the 'Fortnite' Video Game So Much, In Their Own Words - KQED Pop
KQED Pop

Spread Score

How it works
Reach72Contagion45Breadth100Velocity13Longevity8766

Numbers

Fortnite monthly players, all modes, August 2018
78.3M
As of Aug 31, 2018 · Open web · Self-reported · Game Developer
Peak date
Week of Jun 16, 2018
Sep 12 ’17 to Week of Jun 16, 2018
Platforms
6
Started on Open web
Origin
Mixed
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Platform jumpPrimary
  • Press loop
  • Identity badge
  • Revival
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Epic opened a public test, then made Battle Royale free. Unpaid Twitch play and a YouTube tournament spread alongside sponsored creator campaigns. It became school conversation and a board game; Epic later disclosed over $5 billion in 2018 Fortnite revenue.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesJun ’17OctDecApr ’18JulOctApr ’19May ’20Jun ’21Jul ’22Aug ’23PeakOpen webPressTwitchXApp storesYouTube
Open webPressTwitchXApp storesYouTube

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (17)

  1. September 2017

    Epic Games seed · Sep 12 ’17

    Epic announced Battle Royale and opened its playable public test to Fortnite Early Access owners.[1][2]

    Fortnite Battle Royale Launches September 26
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Game Informer press · Sep 12 ’17

    Game Informer covered the Battle Royale announcement and its Early Access public test.[2]

    Fortnite Getting Battle Royale Mode

  3. Epic Games commercial · Sep 26 ’17

    Epic released Battle Royale for free on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac.[3]

Changelogupdated Oct 13 ’26
  1. 2026-10-13Archived 3 sources
  2. 2026-10-12Added: 16 events, 25 sources · Score 66
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Gaming
Region
Global
Fortnite monthly players, all modes, August 2018
78.3M
As of Aug 31, 2018 · Open web · Self-reported · Game Developer
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Houseparty

App stores · 2016

61
The Houseparty screen for connecting a Fortnite account.

28M downloads a month

Black Myth: Wukong

Open web · 2024

60
Black Myth: Wukong gameplay with ray-traced lighting, supplied by NVIDIA.

$700M revenue

Gritty

X · 2018

56
It me. #Gritty

101M impressions

Love Destiny

TV · 2018

56
Love Destiny’s lead characters rode a white horse in Channel 3’s series artwork.

Peaked at #1

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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· Source
Wikipedia views · Google searchesJun ’17OctDecApr ’18JulOctApr ’19May ’20Jun ’21Jul ’22Aug ’23PeakOpen webPressTwitchXApp storesYouTube
Open webPressTwitchXApp storesYouTube

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. September 2017

    Epic Games seed · Sep 12 ’17

    Epic announced Battle Royale and opened its playable public test to Fortnite Early Access owners.[1][2]

    Fortnite Battle Royale Launches September 26
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Game Informer press · Sep 12 ’17

    Game Informer covered the Battle Royale announcement and its Early Access public test.[2]

    Fortnite Getting Battle Royale Mode

  3. Epic Games commercial · Sep 26 ’17

    Epic released Battle Royale for free on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac.[3]

  1. platform jump · Oct 2017

  2. commercial · Oct 9 ’17

Join free to see the other 14 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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