It is difficult to understand the success of the video game company Epic Games without
Fornite
, its star title, which since its launch in July 2017 has become the most popular game in the world with more than 350 million fans.
The company, created in 1991 under the name Potomac Computer Systems by who is still its CEO today, Tim Sweeney, took more than a quarter of a century to achieve its greatest success.
But during this three-decade journey, Epic Games built a game engine used by countless developers - Unreal Engine -, managed to sell almost half of the organization to Chinese digital giant Tencent for $ 330 million in 2012, and has created acclaimed titles, like
Gears of War
and
Rocket League
.
One of the strong men of Epic Games is its head of global agreements, Nate Nanzer (San Diego, USA; 40 years old).
In his office he has negotiated the performance of stars of the song such as Travis Scott or J. Balvin within the video game, or has decided that users can disguise the characters they control as Batman or with the kits of their favorite American football teams. the videogame.
In these disguises, called
skins
, for which each player pays an amount of money, which can range between five and 80 euros, a good part of the company's income resides.
“We work with companies to bring all kinds of characters and costumes, as we have achieved years ago with the comic publishers DC Comics and Marvel.
In fact, for this new season, which started on Tuesday, we have launched
Neymar's
skin
”, he assures.
Much of the
Fortnite
universe
has been forged through content customization.
Nobody denies that the essence of the title, trying to be the last player standing in a virtual cartoon world, revolutionized the known formats;
but his collaboration and openness to other sectors of entertainment has catapulted him to stardom.
The success is undeniable: the game had a turnover of more than 1,500 million euros in 2019, according to the latest data provided by Epic Games.
Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, sues Apple against Brussels for abuse of dominant position
For Nanzer, the video game has become a "social entertainment platform."
As he explains, players are looking for unique experiences to share with their friends.
The same thing they want to have fun shooting and building, the genesis of
Fortnite
, than talking to each other or watching a concert.
“All these experiences have to be socially connected.
It is not only about evolving in the game's own formats, but also in how we interact with and through it.
This has become very clear with the pandemic, where social interaction has been reduced to nothing, "he says.
This speech represents the germ of new functions such as House Party, which allows you to make video calls to friends to see each other while they play, and Party Royale, a map full of options and activities to compete without the need to shoot and eliminate the rest of the users.
They even dared last month to organize a festival of animated short films.
They played a dozen tapes over 24 hours.
The only requirement to access was to open the video game.
“It is crucial that we offer diverse experiences to our community.
Fortnite
has a very important role in society, it helps it stay connected, ”says Nanzer.
A world of gamers
According to the consulting firm Newzoo, video games had a turnover of more than 135,000 million euros last year.
If
Fortnite was
already in good health, with the current health crisis, its position of dominance has skyrocketed even more.
“We are talking about a massive business.
If you combine mobile games, computers and consoles, the world is
gamer
.
Video games are transversal in society.
Just look at platforms like YouTube and Twitch, where diversity is brutal in terms of genders and ages, ”Nanzer reasons.
On the open war between Epic Games against Apple and Google, companies that it sued in the courts of the United States, the EU and Australia for monopolistic practices, in its digital stores, Nanzer opts to take refuge under the official discourse.
He prefers not to comment because, as he suggests, his position has nothing to do with these legal battles, which only led to
Fortnite
becoming unavailable on Apple devices.
Resuming its functions and away from possible controversies, although it does not advance any new collaboration, it opens the door to any sector that wants to get closer to video games.
He clarifies that this is not about paying for advertising - "we don't work that way," he says - but about maintaining the authenticity and meaning of the title while new formats emerge.
This is how the concerts of J. Balvin and Travis Scott, confessed
Fortnite
players, were created
.
“We spent a lot of time looking at the best way to represent the brand within the game.
Of course, always from the collaboration, preserving a value for our users ", he affirms.
The success achieved in the last four years by Epic Games has no signs of disappearing overnight.
If a word dominates its general quarters, it would be evolution.
Nanzer understands that development must be constant.
That the changes have to happen with the intention of offering surprising experiences to the players.
They may be able to overdo it, but they have already demonstrated their ability to turn a video game into a social network.
“We have many plans for the next few years.
I am not afraid of what the life cycle of
Fortnite may be
.
We neither look at it nor take breaks ”, he concludes.
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