Fortnite's Social Media Presence Is Steadily Losing Ground, New Report Shows

By TJ Denzer ·

New social statistics tracking Fortnite over the course of the previous year show that while the game is still relatively strong, it's been steadily dropping from a peak in May 2018.

Fortnite's Social Media Presence Is Steadily Losing Ground, New Report Shows

Fortnite has been one of the biggest and most talked about game in decades. That much is unarguable, but is the game slipping out of the spotlight? New statistics tracking the social mentions of the game show that this may be the case.

It was on March 6, 2019 that social analytics platform Talkwalker published a report of various social media analytics on Fortnite ranging back a year. In one of these reports, it could be shown that following a peak a little after May 5, Fortnite’s social presence has been on a stead decline since. Some spikes have occurred, likely in relation to events in like the E3 Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am in June 2018 and the in-game Marshmello live concert in February 2019. Even so, outside these events Fortnite hasn’t seen a steady rise since it’s May peak.

Despite a steady drop in presence, Fornite has spiked at several points, likely attributed to major events occuring featuring the game. [Image by Talkwalker]
Despite a steady drop in presence, Fornite has spiked at several points, likely attributed to major events occuring featuring the game. [Image by Talkwalker]

While Fortnite’s social media impact dwindles, it still remains one of the strongest presences among gaming. Its closest competitors are still far beneath it, but that may not be the case forever. Though PUBG has declined slightly in the past year, it still generally steady since August of 2018 and seems set to stay that way. Meanwhile, new contender Apex Legends had a breakout start to February 2019, even overcoming PUBG for a time, though its social media mentions have dropped off a bit to steady out with its fellow battle royale.

An interesting aspect of the social media analytics done by Talkwalker showed a breakdown of age and gender. Males seem to make up 2/3s of the social media presence for both Apex Legends and Fortnite, where Fortnite appeals more to a younger audience and Apex Legends seems to draw the attention of older players. However, PUBG seems to be have a more even presence across multiple demographics, with a 54% men to 45% women split and 44% 18-25 years of age to 41% 26-34 years of age presence. This more even spread of chatter may account slightly for PUBG’s steadier social media presence as well.

Does PUBG's more even demographics on social media contribute to its steadier presence? It could be a contributing factor to say the least.
Does PUBG's more even demographics on social media contribute to its steadier presence? It could be a contributing factor to say the least. [Image by Talkwalker]

Even so, Fortnite doesn’t seem to be in danger of losing its place at the top in the immediate future. Despite its decline, it still stood in a massive place when it peaked and even in its waning social media mentions, it still handily out-performs both Apex Legends and PUBG by about two times as much presence.

If the decline continues and we continue to see more unique battle royale games fill the genre, we may see one overtake Fortnite in the next 1 to 2 years at this rate, but for now, it’s probably safe to assume we won’t stop hearing about Epic’s champion game any time soon.