Fortnite Dominates as Battle Royale Interest Declines: Report

A recent report from the esteemed research firm Newzoo suggests that the battle royale genre is facing some headwinds, yet Fortnite remains a formidable force within the gaming landscape. According to Newzoo's PC & Console Gaming Report 2025, the battle royale genre has seen a decline in playtime, dropping from 19% in 2021 to 12% in 2024.

Newzoo's Game Performance Monitor, which tracks data from 37 markets (excluding China and India) across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, reveals that shooter games and battle royale games together consistently represent 40% of total playtime. As battle royale playtime has decreased, shooter game playtime has correspondingly increased.

Despite the genre's overall decline, Fortnite has remarkably increased its dominance within the battle royale space. Newzoo's data shows Fortnite's share of the battle royale genre has surged from 43% in 2021 to an impressive 77% in 2024. This suggests that even as the genre's popularity wanes, Fortnite continues to capture a larger slice of the pie.

In addition to the shifts in the battle royale genre, role-playing games (RPGs) have experienced significant growth, rising from a 9% share of playtime in 2021 to 13% in 2024. Newzoo highlights that 18% of RPG playtime in 2024 was dedicated to major releases from the previous year, including titles like Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.

The competition for player attention is intense, as noted by Newzoo. While stalwarts like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends continue to hold their ground, other games struggle to maintain relevance. Concurrently, both shooters and RPGs are expanding their reach and capturing more of the gaming community's interest. The success of games such as Marvel Rivals and Baldur's Gate 3 underscores this trend.

Fortnite's ability to endure and even thrive amidst these shifts can be attributed to its ongoing updates, diverse content, and its evolution into a multi-genre platform. As time progresses and player preferences evolve, it will be fascinating to observe how these trends continue to develop and reshape the gaming industry.