A recent report from research firm Newzoo suggests that the battle royale genre might be facing some challenges, but Fortnite continues to dominate the scene. According to the Newzoo PC & Console Gaming Report 2025, the battle royale genre has experienced a decline in playtime, dropping from 19% in 2021 to 12% in 2024. The data, sourced from Newzoo's Game Performance Monitor across 37 markets (excluding China and India) on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, reveals that while battle royale games have seen a reduction, shooter games have been on the rise, together accounting for 40% of total playtime.

Despite the overall genre contraction, Fortnite has significantly increased its share within the battle royale space, rising from 43% in 2021 to an impressive 77% in 2024. This indicates that even as the genre as a whole declines, Fortnite continues to capture a larger portion of the market.

In addition to the shifts in the battle royale genre, role-playing games (RPGs) have seen a notable increase in playtime, growing from a 9% share in 2021 to 13% in 2024. Newzoo's data highlights that 18% of the RPG playtime in 2024 was dedicated to major releases from 2023, including titles like Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.

Newzoo's report underscores the competitive nature of the gaming industry, where attention and playtime are hard-fought. While stalwarts like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends maintain their stronghold, other games struggle to keep up. Concurrently, both shooter and role-playing games are gaining ground, with standout titles such as Marvel Rivals and Baldur's Gate 3 exemplifying the genre's success.

Fortnite's resilience can be attributed to its continuous updates, evolving content, and the integration of various gaming experiences and genres within its platform. As audience interests evolve, it will be interesting to observe how these trends develop in the coming years.