With news of Apple planning to launch its own video streaming platform, you would think that Netflix is scared about the competition. Well, it looks like this isn’t the case. Far from it actually. Netflix said in a recent blog post that its biggest competition is not other video streaming platforms, but Fortnite! Even though no one expected Fortnite to be Netflix’s biggest enemy, Netflix confirmed that this is true when it revealed its earning report for 2018.
Netflix vs Fortnite
“We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO,” said Netflix. Netflix has reported that it claimed more than 139 million worldwide paying memberships in 2018 and Epic Games (maker of Fortnite) has reported that it had more than 200 million registered users in 2018.
There is a big gap between Netflix and Fortnite. However, the reason why Fortnite has such a big advantage is because the game is free to play. Instead of making money through subscriptions, dedicated players can buy the Battle Pass, Fortnite makes most of its money through in-game purchases such as Skins (cosmetic items).
Consumer Time is Precious
Netflix doesn’t have an issue with the fact that Fortnite has more users because what really concerns Netflix is the fact that Fortnite is taking too much of people’s time and they don’t watch TV shows and movies anymore.
Netflix is Ready to Invest in More Original Content
The only way that Netflix can fight against Fortnite is to keep launching original content and this is exactly what the company is planning to do in 2019. Netflix announced that it will invest billions of dollars in original content this year and it teased that Stranger Things (new season) will arrive on July 4th. We should also note that Netflix’s latest show “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” is a hit and it helped raise Netflix’s popularity.
