PlayerUnknown's Battlgrounds first brought the battle-royale to the forefront of the industry. But it wasn't until Fortnite that the genre's popularity skyrocketed into the mainstream. The battle royale phenomena – which shows no signs of slowing – is something this industry rarely ever sees, if ever at all.

And while the battle-royale sub-genre has entered deep into the mainstream, it doesn't mean it and its players are any more casual gamers than the next. In fact, battle-royale gamers are some of the most engaged in the industry in a variety of measurements.

According to a new report from market intelligence firm Newzoo, 88 percent of battle-royale players invest money in gaming. Meanwhile, only 75 percent of people who play traditional competitive mutliplayer games – like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege – invest money.

And as you may expect, given that battle-royale players are spending more, means they are also partaking in playing more on both console and PC. Over 30 percent of battle-royale players on console play six or more hours a week, while only 25 percent of competitive gamers put in such hours on the same platforms. On PC, there is a similar gap, with 40 percent of battle-royale players putting in six or more hours a week, while other competitive gamers come in at 32 percent.

In addition to spending and playing more, they also watch more. Newzoo claims that 80 percent of battle royale players watch streams and esports, with 28 percent watching the latter multiple times a month. Only 19 percent of other competitive game players are tuning in into esports at the same rate.

This report goes against the common perception of battle-royale players, that they are more casual consumers of video games than you would find in other types of games and genres. And in some measurements, this may be the case. However, what this new report shows is that not only does the battle-royale genre have mainstream appeal, it has very high levels of engagement. People aren't just casually playing battle-royale games: they're playing them a ton, spending money on them, watching, and creating content for them.

Posted: May 28, 2018 8:44 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/05/27/battle-royale-players-more-engaged/