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Podcast: HBR On Strategy
Episode: Fortnite: Turning a Meteoric Rise into Sustained Growth
Description: In the 1990s and 2000s, video game developer Epic Games had a string of mid-size successes. But the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in 2017 changed the company’s path forever.
The game was a blockbuster. By 2019, Fortnite had registered more than 250 million users, with 10 million concurrent users. But Fortnite’s phenomenal success raised a new question for Epic: How could they turn this singular hit into a series of growth opportunities?
In this episode, Harvard Business School associate professor Andy Wu explains why Epic monetized Fortnite through micro-transactions within the game, rather than charging a fee...