Two games, millions of players. But between Fortnite and Roblox, which one has proved to be more popular with the gaming public?
In the red corner, with the fancy striped trunks and the funky dance moves, we have Fortnite. While in the blue corner, the massively multiplayer online platform of Roblox. Two very different gaming experiences, but which one has more players?
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Fortnite player count 2021
We'll start with Fortnite. Released in 2017 by Epic Games, Fortnite has rapidly become one of the most popular games in the world, securing over 10 million players in just two weeks after release.
To say it has been lucrative for Epic would be an understatement. In 2018 and 2019, Fortnite generated over $9 billion in revenue, while in 2020 it added a further $5.1 billion. Compare that to the $500 million or so that other parts of the business generated in a similar time frame, and you see just what a phenomenon Fortnite really is.
There are two different numbers to consider when looking at player numbers on Fortnite. Concurrent players, which is essentially how many people are playing the game at the same time. And the total number of registered players, which is a total of every registered Fortnite account in existence.
Back in December 2020, Epic announced they had an active player count of 15.3 million concurrent users, compared to 12.3 million in April of the same year. As of May 2020, Fortnite had over 350 million registered players. What is less clear at this point, is how the ongoing lawsuit with Apple has affected these figures, as a huge number of players would almost certainly be Apple device users. But even with that taken into account, Fortnite is absolutely huge.
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Roblox player count 2021
While Fortnite's figures are certainly impressive, Roblox isn't out of this contest just yet. Founded in 2004 by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, Roblox certainly has a longer history than Fortnite. It operates in a very different way to Fortnite. Roblox is not a single game; rather, it is a collection of user-created games, with over 50 million to choose from. It is a world of worlds, a YouTube of gaming, with almost endless choices for a player to make.
Even though it has been around for fifteen years, it has truly taken off since 2018.
In the last three years, it has grown its player base from 35 million to almost 200 million. In January 2021, Roblox had 199 million monthly active users, 32.6 million daily active users, and a record of 5.7 million concurrent users. Hugely impressive numbers, but they do fall some way short of what Fortnite has been able to achieve.
It is worth remembering though, that Roblox isn't a singular game. Arguably, this makes Fortnite even more impressive, as it is one game competing against 50 million games. But it also means that Roblox doesn't have the same hype surrounding any singular part of its offering.
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What are Roblox and Fortnite worth?
Financially, a comparison of the two is interesting. Roblox generated $920 million in 2020. The company as whole was valued at $41.9 billion when it listed on the stock exchange earlier this year. Compare this with Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite which, in a recent fundraising round, was valued at $28.7 billion.
So even though Fortnite has more players, and generates more money, it is Roblox that is currently the more valuable company.
Fortnite vs Roblox: who wins?
Ultimately, given that this was a contest between player numbers rather than balance sheets, Fortnite has to be declared the winner. More players registered, and a much higher concurrent player record.
But with Roblox continuing to grow, and the growing interest in the Metaverse, this could all change the next time we compare these two behemoths.
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