However, there are unique product placements. On Fortnite, there are no traditional advertising opportunities - as a player, you won’t see a digital billboard, nor can you access rewarded video ads that allow you to redeem a booster. These events demonstrated an unprecedented amount of scale and digital capabilities.įrom: Marshmello YouTube Looking for Ads? Nah Bruhīrands have capitalized on opportunities related to video games for years, from sponsoring eSports tournaments (see: Nike and League of Legends) to paying for mobile game interstitial ads. Abrams’s avatar and caught an exclusive preview of the film. The game also experimented with a trailer release event for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where players danced with director J.J. Following that event’s success, the game partnered with DJ Marshmello, Steve Aoki, and deadmau5 for a Super Bowl music festival, which saw similarly impressive audience numbers. The game organized a Travis Scott concert - where the musician’s kaiju-sized avatar was accompanied by psychedelic visuals synchronized with the music - which saw a 12.3 million-person audience. What’s more, Fortnite has embraced its identity as a multifaceted channel by providing players with something that Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are itching to achieve: live digital experiences. No wonder one study found that the game has more in common with Facebook than a game like Call of Duty.
After Epic Games ( Fortnite’s software developer and publisher) released the game’s Party Royale mode, a no-combat hub, players have flocked to the platform to socialize, complete special challenges, and hang out. Instead, it combines the unique benefits of gaming, social media, and streaming into a singular experience. One reason for Fortnite’s popularity? The experience it offers spans far beyond the value players typically receive from a video game.
And its young players love it - those between the ages of 10 to 17 who log on at least once a week spend a whopping 25% or more of all their free time playing it. It has both the biggest audience and the most streamers on Twitch, an eSports streaming platform.
It made $2.4 billion in 2018, in part because players can purchase cosmetic skins, game mods, and even dance moves for their avatars. Though the premise may seem simple, the game has earned impressive accolades. Released in 2017, Fortnite is a battle royale first-person shooter - players aim to gather the best weapons, eliminate 99 other players, and remain the last person standing in an ever-shrinking arena. If you’re curious about the future of reaching Gen Z consumers, it starts with Fortnite. But beyond that, its popularity has allowed the game to grow into a full-fledged 3D virtual space rife with marketing, social networking, and digital experiential possibilities. Unlike its predecessors, the game has conquered mainstream culture internationally, inspiring everything from dance moves to branded nerf guns.
Today, the reigning champion of the video game industry is Fortnite, a video game that boasts the largest Gen Z player base (the youngest professional Fortnite player is only 13 years old!). From Animal Crossing to Pokemon to Minecraft, young people across generations have embraced video games as a medium for distraction, entertainment, and socialization. Since the invention of the console in the late 1960s, video games have been a ubiquitous part of modern culture.