Epic Games Store Data Shows Fortnite Playtime Dip in 2025 Amid Rising Third-Party Success
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Epic Games' annual review reveals a notable drop in Fortnite playtime and first-party engagement for 2025, even as third-party spending and game hours on the Epic Games Store saw significant growth driven by live-service titles.
Epic Games recently pulled back the curtain on its annual platform performance data, offering a clear look at how the Epic Games Store fared over the past year. While leadership maintains that Fortnite remains a dominant force across the industry, the numbers point to a notable shift. According to the year in review figures covered by Eurogamer, total gameplay hours dropped by 14 percent year-on-year to 6.65 billion. When isolating the data, store executives confirmed that this overall dip was largely driven by a noticeable reduction in first-party playtime compared to the record-breaking heights of 2024.
At the same time, the rest of the storefront showed signs of healthy expansion. Third-party playtime actually climbed by 4 percent, reaching 2.78 billion hours, while player spending on non-Epic titles surged by a massive 57 percent to hit $400 million. Much of this financial growth appears tied to the runaway popularity of free-to-play titles utilizing persistent live-service models and gacha mechanics. Games like Honkai: Star Rail and Wuthering Waves joined Fortnite and Rocket League in the platform's highest engagement tier, proving that players are still willing to open their wallets for titles offering continuous updates and digital progression.
For the broader gaming community, these stats highlight the shifting habits of cross-platform players as they divide their time between massive social hubs and evolving external releases. While fatigue or natural audience rotation might explain a softer year for Fortnite hours, the ecosystem as a whole is clearly finding momentum elsewhere. As developers and publishers navigate the pressures of modern live-service sustainability, platforms that successfully host diverse third-party economies are carving out an increasingly vital space for themselves. You can read the original breakdown over at Eurogamer.
Tags: Epic Games Store, Fortnite, PC Gaming, Live Service, Industry Trends
Original article: Eurogamer