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Markets change. During the early 2000's, the going rate for a AAA engine license started at USD$250,000. The three main ones at the time were Quake 3 engine (id

Markets change. During the early 2000's, the going rate for a AAA engine license started at USD$250,000. The three main ones at the time were Quake 3 engine (id tech 5??), Unreal and Lithtech. Unity wasn't the first engine to try to make this more accessible (anyone remember Genesis3D?), but it was the first to do it well. It also came into maturity at the right time to take advantage of the App Store. Unity has done an incredible job of making game development accessible. So much so that when I wanted an extra 30 days on their trial period, I reached out over Skype and was answered within minutes by the founder (who was CEO at the time) and issued a new license key. Unreal adapted to that market change - they didn't do it half-assed either, they did it properly and with conviction. Their success with Fortnite isn't a one-off, it's come from an astute market awareness and adaptability. The fact that they turned this fund into reality so quickly is exactly why Fortnite and the Unreal engine is a success.

simias 8y ago
>Their success with Fortnite isn't a one-off, it's come from an astute market awareness and adaptability. It's impressive that they managed to build that Battle Royale mode so quickly and efficiently (although obviously it was helped by the fact that they could build on top of their pre-existing Fortnite game) but I think you're downplaying the luck factor. Or rather, if you don't think it's a one-off, do you really think that they will be able to replicate this level of success "at will" in the future? And if so, why didn't they have the same amount of success and "market awareness" in the past? Remember Paragon? >Paragon was a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game developed and published by Epic Games. Powered by their own Unreal Engine 4, the game started pay-to-play early access in March 2016, and free-to-play access to its open beta started in February 2017.[1] Epic Games shut down its servers on April 27, 2018. I definitely think that the Fortnite people were at the right place at the right time, they saw an opportunity and jumped on it. They saw PUBG had great potential but was struggling to deliver a polished multiplatform experience. They had this brand new Fortnite game that they could mod a BR mode into relatively easily. They released it on platforms where PUBG was not available and on top of that they released it for free. It's clever but this particular combination of events do not occur every month.
- pdpi 8y ago
  > Or rather, if you don't think it's a one-off, do you really think that they will be able to replicate this level of success "at will" in the future? It's not a binary. If I can consistently roll a 6 on a die at 1/4 probability, I'm still doing _something_ based on skill, in aggregate, while the outcome of any given roll is still largely being governed by chance. > It's clever but this particular combination of events do not occur every month. Adaptability isn't about _making_ the opportunity. It's about having enough flexibility to capitalise on it when it presents itself.
- dkersten 8y ago
  > They saw PUBG had great potential but was struggling to deliver a polished multiplatform experience. They had this brand new Fortnite game that they could mod a BR mode into relatively easily. They released it on platforms where PUBG was not available and on top of that they released it for free Luck provided them with the opportunity, but their ingenuity is what let them take advantage of it and capitalise on it.
- emdowling 8y ago
  > Remember Paragon? Some companies will have spectacular failures as well as spectacular successes. Successful companies are able to learn from both and iterate. Unreal and Unreal Tournament were absolute block busters that paved the way for Fortnite, just as Paragon did. You wouldn't have arrived at Fortnite without first going through the ups and downs that preceded it. By your logic, a company can only be considered successful if they never make mistakes, which is a severely flawed position.
  - simias 8y ago
    You're right, I didn't articulate my point well. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be considered successful if they ever make a mistake, I'm saying that at this point I think Fortnite is effectively a fluke, Minecraft-style, the right game at the right time. IMO we have a sample size of one, they wouldn't be the first devs to strike gold once and fail to replicate the formula later. I don't really consider Unreal and UT because, while they were definitely successful and I personally love UT, they're the product of a different time. The last truly successful UT was in 2004 (UT3 in 2007 didn't have quite the same long-lasting appeal and even that was 12 years ago!). There's also Gears of War that was quite popular on consoles but again, a completely different formula and nothing remotely close to what Fortnite is achieving today.

simias 8y ago

>Their success with Fortnite isn't a one-off, it's come from an astute market awareness and adaptability. It's impressive that they managed to build that Battle Royale mode so quickly and efficiently (although obviously it was helped by the fact that they could build on top of their pre-existing Fortnite game) but I think you're downplaying the luck factor. Or rather, if you don't think it's a one-off, do you really think that they will be able to replicate this level of success "at will" in the future? And if so, why didn't they have the same amount of success and "market awareness" in the past? Remember Paragon? >Paragon was a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game developed and published by Epic Games. Powered by their own Unreal Engine 4, the game started pay-to-play early access in March 2016, and free-to-play access to its open beta started in February 2017.[1] Epic Games shut down its servers on April 27, 2018. I definitely think that the Fortnite people were at the right place at the right time, they saw an opportunity and jumped on it. They saw PUBG had great potential but was struggling to deliver a polished multiplatform experience. They had this brand new Fortnite game that they could mod a BR mode into relatively easily. They released it on platforms where PUBG was not available and on top of that they released it for free. It's clever but this particular combination of events do not occur every month.

pdpi 8y ago
> Or rather, if you don't think it's a one-off, do you really think that they will be able to replicate this level of success "at will" in the future? It's not a binary. If I can consistently roll a 6 on a die at 1/4 probability, I'm still doing _something_ based on skill, in aggregate, while the outcome of any given roll is still largely being governed by chance. > It's clever but this particular combination of events do not occur every month. Adaptability isn't about _making_ the opportunity. It's about having enough flexibility to capitalise on it when it presents itself.
dkersten 8y ago
> They saw PUBG had great potential but was struggling to deliver a polished multiplatform experience. They had this brand new Fortnite game that they could mod a BR mode into relatively easily. They released it on platforms where PUBG was not available and on top of that they released it for free Luck provided them with the opportunity, but their ingenuity is what let them take advantage of it and capitalise on it.
emdowling 8y ago
> Remember Paragon? Some companies will have spectacular failures as well as spectacular successes. Successful companies are able to learn from both and iterate. Unreal and Unreal Tournament were absolute block busters that paved the way for Fortnite, just as Paragon did. You wouldn't have arrived at Fortnite without first going through the ups and downs that preceded it. By your logic, a company can only be considered successful if they never make mistakes, which is a severely flawed position.
- simias 8y ago
  You're right, I didn't articulate my point well. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be considered successful if they ever make a mistake, I'm saying that at this point I think Fortnite is effectively a fluke, Minecraft-style, the right game at the right time. IMO we have a sample size of one, they wouldn't be the first devs to strike gold once and fail to replicate the formula later. I don't really consider Unreal and UT because, while they were definitely successful and I personally love UT, they're the product of a different time. The last truly successful UT was in 2004 (UT3 in 2007 didn't have quite the same long-lasting appeal and even that was 12 years ago!). There's also Gears of War that was quite popular on consoles but again, a completely different formula and nothing remotely close to what Fortnite is achieving today.