A recent report from the research firm Newzoo suggests that the battle royale genre might be facing a challenging period, yet Fortnite continues to dominate the field. According to Newzoo's PC & Console Gaming Report 2025, the battle royale genre has experienced a decline in playtime, dropping from 19% of total playtime in 2021 to 12% in 2024.
Newzoo's Game Performance Monitor, which tracks 37 markets (excluding China and India) across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, reveals that shooter games and battle royale games together make up 40% of playtime. As the playtime for battle royale games has decreased, the playtime for shooter games has correspondingly increased.
Despite the overall 7% decline in the genre's playtime, Fortnite's dominance within the battle royale category is striking. The game's share of the battle royale genre has surged from 43% in 2021 to an impressive 77% in 2024. This indicates that while the genre as a whole may be contracting, Fortnite is capturing an increasingly larger segment of the remaining playtime.
The role-playing game (RPG) genre has also seen significant growth, increasing from 9% of playtime in 2021 to 13% in 2024. Newzoo highlighted that 18% of RPG playtime in 2024 was devoted to major releases from 2023, such as Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.
The competition for player attention is intense, with games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends maintaining their presence, while others struggle to keep up. Meanwhile, both shooters and RPGs are gaining ground and capturing more of the gaming community's interest. The success of standout titles in these genres, 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 diverse range of gaming experiences it offers. As time progresses, it's clear that gaming trends will continue to evolve in response to shifting audience preferences. The dynamic nature of the gaming industry ensures that we'll see further changes in the years to come.
