Why it matters: Fortnite's growth over the course of 2018 has been nothing short of astounding. Epic has rewritten the book on how to grow an engaged and passionate fan base. It's the sort of stuff that'll one day make for a great college thesis, especially if Epic can sustain this level of growth over the foreseeable future.
Fortnite, the cultural phenomenon from Epic Games, made headlines when it surpassed the 40 million registered user mark early this year. By June, the game had attracted a breathtaking 125 million account holders but even that figure pales in comparison to its latest milestone.
According to Bloomberg, Fortnite now has over 200 million registered players. That's a 60 percent increase since June and five times as many player accounts as the game had at the beginning of the year.
It's worth noting that not all of those accounts are active. Epic's last update on that front came in September when it said the game had 78.3 million active players in August. Earlier this month, Fortnite hit a record 8.3 million concurrent players after launching in South Korea.
As Season 6 of Fortnite winds down, gamers are already turning their attention to what's next. Unlike previous seasons which involved major global events like meteors and rockets, there's nothing major going on in the game to indicate the direction that Epic will take with its next season. In the real world, we're dealing with the holidays and winter weather so perhaps those themes will make their way into the game.