Fortnite: Analyst Says Earnings are Dropping, Epic Disputes Analyst, Analyst Argues Back

Epic Games and industry analyst SuperData are squaring off after a report claimed Fortnite's earnings had dropped to their lowest level since 2017.

It began when SuperData put out a monthly games industry earnings report for January 2020. The report placed Fortnite as the 7th highest earner on console, but outside of the top 10 on PC and mobile, and summed up the game's performance by saying the game's "earnings continued their gradual decline and hit their lowest level since November 2017."

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, an Epic spokesperson subsequently called SuperData's reports "wildly inaccurate", although didn't go so far as to point specifically at this latest one:

"SuperData does not and has not ever had access to Epic's Fortnite revenue data, and SuperData's reports do not accurately reflect Fortnite's performance. We are disappointed that SuperData has repeatedly published wildly inaccurate reports about Fortnite based on what we believe is questionable methodology. While we do not and have not publicly shared revenue numbers for Fortnite, we will say that SuperData's reports do not align with reality."

This is particularly notable as it's become increasingly rare to see Epic reach out to press about Fortnite, particularly around the hugely successful battle royale's financial success.

SuperData, however, has hit back. The analyst told GI.biz that it stands by the results, and saying it has "a proven methodology and validation process". Epic has yet to reply.

It's an unusual squabble to see occur so publicly, and draws attention to how secretive the games industry – most particularly its top earners – tend to be about financial matters. Much of the analysis of in-game earnings tends to come from educated guesswork by analysts – and it remains to be seen how accurate SuperData is in this instance.

Fortnite recently launched the second season of Chapter 2, and has added everything from Deadpool, to rickrolling, to mythic weapons. But is it all just a game? Ninja doesn't think so, and the Internet and lots and lots of opinions about that.