How many players does Fortnite have?

New Zealand has a lower population than there are Fortnite players. Think about that.

Image via Epic Games

Released in 2017, Fortnite has evolved into a gaming phenomenon over the years. A game that was once considered PUBG’s cartoonish rival became the strongest title in the battle royale genre, and Epic Games still works tirelessly to design each season better than its predecessor.

While some dedicated players may argue that the first season of Fortnite was the peak and there is nothing Epic can do to recapture that unique experience, the numbers say otherwise.

A year after its release, Fortnite drew over 125 million players. The number of registered Fortnite users seems to increase around 25 to 40 percent each year, and 2022 wasn’t an exception.

Fortnite is one of the few titles that still attracts new players continuously years after its release and it’s something to admire. Most esports titles like Dota 2 and CS:GO enter a preserving stage in which the number of new players significantly decreases and the developers focus on keeping the existing player base happy.

How many users does Fortnite have in 2022?

Image via Epic Games

Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data, reported that Fortnite had over 350 million registered users in May 2020. The game continued to do well in 2021 with 400 million registered users, according to a report from IGN. In 2022, the number has likely only risen, although we’ll have to wait until the end of the year for official numbers.

There are anywhere between 2.9 to 4 million concurrent players inside Fortnite at any given time in 2022, according to PlayerCounter, a website that keeps track of people playing a game.

Fortnite’s continuous collaborations with names like Marvel, DC, and other artists work wonderfully to attract new players since each partner lets its follower base know about the collaboration and invites them to play Fortnite. Fortnite streamers playing with celebrities on live occasions is also another great way of showcasing Fortnite to new users since lots of potential players tune in to watch how their favorite celebrities are doing while gaming.

Registered users don’t directly translate to concurrent players, however. Players can create accounts and never touch them again, which is hardly ever profitable for Epic. The registered user count can also include multiple accounts of a single player, which can add up in the end.

Though Epic doesn’t publicly share Fortnite’s live concurrent player count, the developer shares the live attendance of any in-game event.

The Marshmello event drew in 10.8 million concurrent players in 2019, which was the record until the Travis Scott event in April 2020. The Travis Scott event topped the record with 12.3 million concurrent players. In 2021, Ariana Grande took the stage and potentially toppled this player count, although no hard numbers are readily available.

How many players will Fortnite have in 2023?

Image via Epic Games

The number of registered Fortnite users is destined to increase since Epic excels at making Fortnite feel fresh with each patch. There’s no doubt that the developer has more collaboration and season ideas that will draw even more users in the future. But at this time, it’s unclear exactly how many players Epic can expect to see in Fortnite in 2023.

How many players are playing Fortnite right now?

Epic doesn’t disclose how many players are playing Fortnite at any given movement. Though the developer itself doesn’t provide an API, there are other solutions out there that use different methods to keep track of games’ active player numbers.

PlayerCounter features live online player counts for games that don’t share their numbers like Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Fortnite. The website uses a custom algorithm called Ghost Network Protocol (GNP), which tracks the network traffic of popular titles. Considering the numbers it provides for games with active player counts like Dota 2 are accurate, the numbers for other games may be the real deal as well. As of July 20, 2022, there are 3 million concurrent players in Fortnite, according to PlayerCounter.

About the author
Gökhan Çakır

Strategical Content Writer and Fortnite Lead for Dot Esports. Gökhan Çakır graduated as an industrial engineer in 2020 and has since applied his analytical and strategic thinking to many endeavors. As a natural-born gamer, he honed his skills to a professional level in Dota 2. Upon giving up on the Aegis of Champions in 2019, Gökhan started his writing career, covering all things gaming while his heart remains a lifetime defender of the Ancients.