‘Fortnite’ Is Top-Grossing Video Game Of The Year, Scoring $1.8 Billion In Sales

If you have a teenager in your house, you shouldn’t be surprised by Nielsen’s latest statistic: Fortnite took in $1.8 billion in sales in 2019, more money in a single year than any game in history.

SuperData, the video game arm of Nielsen, gave the numbers on the game. Epic Games owns Fortnite but doesn’t break out its revenue. Overall, the gaming industry racked up $120 billion, up four percent from 2018.

The data was compiled from mobile, PC, console games, augmented reality, esports, and virtual reality revenues. The 2019 revenue breaks down into $64.4 billion for mobile games, $29.6 billion for PC, and $15.4 billion for consoles.

The rest of the tally includes $6.5 billion for game-related videos and $6.3 billion for extended reality games (XR), a term which embraces virtual reality or augmented reality.

Superdata said Fortnite remained atop the gaming world because of its successful promotions with cultural touchstones like the Avengers, Stranger Things  and Star Wars.

Fortnite is free, but charges a $10 seasonal Battle Pass. It also sells in-game items like clothes, weapons, dances and reactions for players. The game boasts 125 million players.