'Fortnite' fails to meet market expectations
“Fortnite” developed by Epic Games / Courtesy of Epic Games Korea
By Jun Ji-hye
“Fortnite,” the globally popular survival shooting game developed by U.S.-based Epic Games, has seen poor results since its release in Korea's internet cafes this month, contrary to expectations it would engage in cutthroat competition with “PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds” developed by Korean game developer PUBG.
Epic Games began the service of “Fortnite” at internet cafes here on Nov. 8, carrying out a series of aggressive marketing strategies, which market observers expected to weigh on PUBG.
However, “Fortnite” was in 34th place in term of popularity among games played at internet cafes nationwide, according to data provided by internet cafe research company Gametrics, Tuesday.
Last week, “Fortnite” was in 32nd place on Nov. 15 and 28th place on Nov. 18.
On the other hand, “Battlegrounds” has maintained its No. 2 position after “League of Legends,” released by U.S. game company Riot Games, meaning that “Fortnite” has yet to threaten “Battlegrounds” here.
Released in July last year, “Fortnite” has become popular around the world, achieving in February this year simultaneous access by 3.4 million users on Steam, the world's largest online game store platform.
But the results in Korea have appeared to be unsatisfactory, considering marketing activities conducted by the U.S. company, including offering the shooter game to internet cafe owners for free for at least 118 days and compensating users who accomplish missions while playing the game.
Epic Games was also the first foreign game company to become the main sponsor of global game exhibition G-Star 2018, which was held in Busan from Nov. 15 to 18.
During the game exhibition, the company operated 100 promotional booths to demonstrate “Fortnite,” which could be played on various platforms including PC, PlayStation 4 and smartphone.
An official from Epic Games Korea said the company was not worried about the current situation as it has not been long since the game's release in Korea.
“Although Fortnite has been globally popular, we have not carried out active marketing activities in Korea. We did not think Fortnite would join the top 10 games right after its release,” he said. “We will need to make steady efforts to attract more users.”
“Fortnite” has been cited as the biggest competitor of “Battlegrounds,” a survivor shooter game reminiscent of the Japanese film “Battle Royale.”
After its release in March last year, “Battlegrounds” became a great hit globally, enjoying simultaneous access by more than 3 million users last December on Steam.
But the number of players that accessed the game simultaneously has been dropping, while “Fortnite” has been attracting more gamers.
In January, PUBG appeared to keep Epic Games in check by filing an injunction with the Seoul Central District Court, alleging copyright infringement against Epic Games Korea.
The lawsuit, which the Korean firm withdrew a few months later, was made as the U.S. firm added its free-to-play “Battle Royale” portion into the game in September, provoking a plagiarism controversy and allegations that it copied “Battlegrounds” items and user interface.