The game Fortnite is now available on iOS phones and is making an incredible amount of money. The Chinese battle royale clones of PUBG, Knives Out, and Rules of Survival fall far behind. The special thing is: The earnings are from a cash shop that offers purely cosmetic items.
In just 72 hours, Fortnite generated $1.5 million (about €1.2 million) worldwide with the mobile version. This is known from the website Sensor Tower, which relies on data and estimates.
This is remarkable for three reasons:
- Fortnite is currently only available on iOS, Android is still pending
- It was an invitation event, meaning one had to be invited and could not just start
- And Fortnite has a tame “cosmetics only” cash shop, where skins can be purchased and the battle pass that promises even more skins
With these $1.5 million in the first 4 days on iOS, it significantly surpasses the Chinese mobile competition in the battle royale games. NetEase has dominated the mobile market with “Knives Out” and “Rules of Survival” so far. These are clear variations of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
PUBG itself is – like Fortnite – only now slowly coming to phones and tablets. The Chinese “PUBG-inspired” games were quicker.
How the new “Fortnite” variant from NetEase, “Fortcraft,” performs, is still unknown at the moment.
Pokemon GO was more successful, but also has a tougher cash shop
However, Fortnite does not rank in the top regions of the eternal leaderboard with $1.5 million.
When comparing game launches from the last two years, Pokemon GO ($4.9 million) and Clash Royale ($4.6 million) were stronger in the first 4 days on iOS.
However, they also have cash shops that contain items that directly affect gameplay.
How do you like Fortnite on iOS so far? Are you getting along with the controls?
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