Fortnite: Turning a Meteoric Rise into Sustained Growth

In the 1990s and 2000s, video game developer Epic Games had a string of mid-size successes. But the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in 2017 changed the company’s path forever.

The game was a blockbuster. By 2019, Fortnite had registered more than 250 million users, with 10 million concurrent users. But Fortnite’s phenomenal success raised a new question for Epic: How could they turn this singular hit into a series of growth opportunities?

In this episode, Harvard Business School associate professor Andy Wu explains why Epic monetized Fortnite through micro-transactions within the game, rather than charging a fee for the game itself. He also discusses how Epic’s creation of a platform, the Epic store, and a premium subscription service built on Fortnite’s success and helped to distinguish their brand from other free-play games.

Key episode topics include: strategy, growth strategy, R&D, strategy execution, video games, fortnite, epic games.

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· Listen to the original Cold Call episode: Fortnite Was a Blockbuster for Epic Games, What’s the Encore? (2020)

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