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Epic Games is now worth $8.5bn off back of Fortnite boom

Epic Games is now worth $8.5bn off back of Fortnite boom

Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker Epic Games has almost doubled in value in the last year

That's according to figures from Bloomberg, which say the North Carolina based games giant is now worth $8.5bn - up from 2017's $5bn.

To the surprise of no-one, Fortnite is behind this massive growth. The game's free-to-play model is also credited with helping Epic out, with analysts telling Bloomberg that this is responsible for some of the highest revenue-per-user figures in the market. Additionally, this has meant operating margins are more than 50 per cent.

The growth will be particularly good news for both CEO and controlling shareholder Tim Sweeney - who has become a billionaire off the back of this boom.

Additionally, Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent snapped up 48.4 per cent of Epic's shares for $330m back in 2012. That stake will now be worth in the region of $4.1bn. 

At last report, Fortnite had been played by a massive 125m people at the start of 2018 - meaning it's likely much higher at this point - with research firm SuperData reporting that users around the world had spent a total of $300m in the game in May 2018.

“On the revenue side, they’ve done something that’s really unique, which is come up with a perception of exclusivity,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

“If you see another player in a leopard skin and go to the store and see it’s no longer available, you think, Shoot, I’ve got to move on it next time.”


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.