Fortnite Was the Fifth Most Watched Game on YouTube this Year, But Will it Be Able to Sustain this Number?

Epic Games’ Fortnite added another feather to its cap by becoming the fifth most-watched game on YouTube in 2020.

The year got off to a pretty rocky start because of the ongoing pandemic. It forced everyone to stay indoors and look for new modes of entertainment. And if YouTube’s data is to be believed, everyone, more or less, found solace in video games.

People took on games, watched videos of their favorite games, and also watched their favorite streamers talk about these games. As a result of this, YouTube gaming has reached its best year ever in terms of numbers.

YouTube announced this feat via a blog post also informing us that the users have imbibed content worth 100 billion hours. Moreover, over 80,000 channels hit 100K subscribers this year, over 1,000 hit 5 million, and over 350 hit 10 million.

According to the data released by YouTube, the top 5 games watched this year are- Minecraft (201 billion views), Roblox (75 billion views), Garena Free Fire (72 billion views), and Grand Theft Auto V (70 billion views), and Fortnite (67 billion views).

Fortnite trails behind other massive titles, but has managed to be a part of the list since its inception. Will it be able to sustain these numbers?

Will Fortnite be able to sustain these numbers after having a rather rocky year?

A turning point for the BR was the feud with Apple earlier this year. The feud resulted in Fortnite being pulled from Apple’s play store, leading the BR to lose a massive player base.

Immediately after this incident, the game saw a significant surge in popularity. But there’s more than meets the eye.

Many professional players like Ninja, NICKMERCS, and several others took a hiatus from Fortnite this year. These are household names in the community and are also responsible for getting the maximum views.

Many streamers have challenged the game in terms of its competitive ability. They believe that the BR fails to strike a balance between casual and competitive gameplay, which has become rather troublesome.

The addition of side quests and NPC’s may have made the game more interactive. But it directly hampers the competitive aspect, which has been the reason several streamers quit streaming the game earlier this year.

But all hope is not lost. The onset of Season 5 saw the return of many professionals. Streamers like NICKMERCS, Tfue, and Ninja arrived just before Season 5 began. Another streamer to join the list was xQc, who made a kid’s day after streaming with him.

The fans will have to wait for a year more to see if the Apple debacle and losing a few streamers affected the BR’s growth. Stay tuned to find out!