Epic Games released its cooperative multiplayer survival game Fortnite (developed in concert with People Can Fly) last week, and creative director Darren Sugg took to Twitter a day after launch to confirm the game had already sold over half a million (pre-ordered digital) copies.
That’s a decent number, one that’s probably a bit higher now that the game has been on sale across PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for nearly a week. However, it’s more interesting in light of the fact that Epic announced Fortnite over six years ago, and has presumably been working on it in some form for even longer.
The game also seems worth following because of its idiosyncratic pricing scheme: Fortnite is currently being sold (both online and in retail boxes) for $60, with cheaper and more expensive versions ($40 – $150) sold via Epic’s digital game storefront.
Since Epic has said it intends to make the game free-to-play sometime next year, the various tiers of Fortnite being sold to customers right now are pitched as grab bags of hero packs, weapon packs, in-game currency, inventory space unlocks and other rewards that are typically offered as “boosts” in F2P games.