New leaks suggest that Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, is planning to launch its own subscription service. According to Game Rant, the computer games developer and publisher will soon announce a subscription service for its Epic Games Store. The subscription service is said to offer monthly and annual plans, as well as an option to bundle with EA Play from Electronic Arts.
Epic Games already offers specific subscriptions for Fortnite, under the name Fortnite Crew, which include exclusive features and in-game benefits for $11.99 per month. However, the company does not yet have any subscriptions encompassing their entire game lineup.
Other companies in the gaming industry are also starting to offer subscriptions or enhance their existing offerings. For example, Ubisoft, the owner of Assassin’s Creed, recently relaunched its subscription program, combining two existing services under the name Ubisoft+ Premium and adding the option of Ubisoft+ Classics for PC.
Meanwhile, companies that gained popularity through video game consoles are also focusing on subscriptions. Microsoft’s Xbox, for instance, spends over $1 billion annually on content for its Game Pass service. In its recent financial report, Microsoft stated that the growth of Game Pass contributed to a 13% year-over-year increase in sales of Xbox content and services, and content and services revenue overall increased by $309 million for the company.
Similarly, Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus both have tens of millions of subscribers.
There is undoubtedly a demand for these types of services, as customers dedicate a significant amount of time to entertainment. A PYMNTS Intelligence study involving over 4,600 consumers found that on average, customers spend 4.7 hours per day, or 27% of their time, on entertainment during weekdays, and 6.9 hours on weekends.
The PTMNTS Intelligence report “Benchmarking The World’s Digital Transformation,” based on surveys conducted among over 15,000 consumers from 11 countries, revealed that 61% of respondents are actively engaged in digital activities related to entertainment, and an additional 17% are moderately engaged.
However, as the PTMNTS Intelligence report “Bill Pay Guide: Factors Influencing Consumer Payment Priorities,” created in collaboration with Mastercard, indicates, consumers have limited financial resources to allocate to their gaming interests. The study showed that 38% of respondents in the US would unsubscribe from digital media services if they were unable to pay all of their bills. Only 22% said they would prefer to pay those bills in full. Furthermore, the same report revealed that payments for digital media subscriptions are among the monthly bills that consumers most frequently choose to forego.
As Epic Games contemplates launching its subscription service, it will need to navigate this competitive landscape by offering unique value in order to remain in the gaming market.
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