Fortnite Dominates as Battle Royale Interest Declines, Report Says

A recent report from research firm Newzoo suggests that while the storm may be tightening around the battle royale genre, Fortnite remains a dominant force. According to Newzoo's PC & Console Gaming Report 2025, the battle royale genre has experienced a decline in playtime, dropping from 19% in 2021 to 12% in 2024. This data was gathered from Newzoo's Game Performance Monitor, which tracks 37 markets across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, excluding China and India.

Interestingly, while the battle royale genre has seen a decrease, shooter games have seen a corresponding increase in playtime, together accounting for 40% of total playtime. Despite the genre's overall decline, Fortnite has significantly expanded its dominance, increasing its share from 43% in 2021 to an impressive 77% in 2024. This indicates that even as the genre shrinks, Fortnite continues to capture a larger portion of the battle royale market.

In addition to shifts in the battle royale space, role-playing games (RPGs) have also experienced growth, rising from a 9% share of playtime in 2021 to 13% in 2024. Newzoo highlighted 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 gamers' attention is intense, with established titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends continuing to thrive, while others struggle to maintain relevance. Meanwhile, both shooters and RPGs are gaining ground and capturing more of the gaming community's focus. The success of games such as Marvel Rivals and Baldur's Gate 3 underscores this trend.

Fortnite's resilience can be attributed to its continuous updates, evolving content, and the broad spectrum of gaming experiences it offers within its ecosystem. As audience interests evolve, it will be fascinating to observe how these trends develop in the coming years.