Blue Owl AI Predicts Epic Games Monumental Fortnite OG Relaunch--and Says Data Shows Similar Opportunities for Other Game Publishers

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Last week, Epic Games made history with the release of Fortnite OG. According to their post on X, over 44.7 million players logged in, resulting in an astonishing total of 102 million hours of gameplay, which makes it the single biggest day in Fortnite’s illustrious history. According to predictive models based on gamer research by Blue Owl AI, other publishers could have similar uncaptured opportunities.

“Video Games is a hypercompetitive industry with millions of titles vying for the gamer’s dollar,” says Jeff D. Brazell, Professor of Marketing at the University of Utah and CEO of Blue Owl AI, a research and AI company providing strategic guidance systems to industry. “Most publishers deactivate marketing relatively soon after a game’s release, but in predictive models based on our dataset that includes surveys of over 51,000 gamers, we see huge opportunities for titles long past their release dates. So not only is the Fortnite OG response unsurprising, but it was also predicted.”

The key, according to researchers at Blue Owl AI, is to understand that gamers have dozens of games they intend to buy or play, and that preferences, which games are being considered, and profiles of those gamers most interested change over time. That means marketing messages that resonated and persuaded a year ago—or even a month ago—may not be effective today.

“To move to the top gamers’ lists at any given time, publishers need to deliver messages that resonate with the attitudes, motivations, and preferences of the gamers who are ready to buy at that moment,” says Steve Cooley, a researcher with over 30 years’ experience. “Blue Owl’s up-to-the-moment persona profiles arm game makers with the deep understanding of gamers who know about a title, have been planning on buying or playing it, but just need a little persuasion to pull the trigger.”

The rewards, as Epic has just shown, can be huge. But you don’t have to be Fortnite to realize outsized returns on data-supported marketing. In a previous case, a smaller video game publisher used the gamer persona profiles and models from Blue Owl AI to design a digital campaign, and they realized an ROI of over 2,800% in 30 days. The beautifully simple insights were available 24/7/365 in their browser, so they had access when they needed a quick turnaround.

By precisely targeting the right audience with the right messaging at an optimal price point, game developers and publishers can unlock untapped opportunities for growth and success.

This week, Blue Owl AI shared examples of games released over a year ago that together show over $700 million in potential sales. The games include:

Spider-Man by Sony Interactive Entertainment with $158.1 million*
Gotham Knights by Warner Bros with $152.2 Million*
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla by Ubisoft with $149.8 Million*
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time by Activision with $145.9 Million*
Mortal Kombat 11 by Warner Bros with $142.2 Million*

Hundreds of other titles show similar potential.

Blue Owl AI is committed to exploring new avenues and strategies with game publishers, setting the stage for even more groundbreaking achievements in the future.

*Revenue estimates are generated using advanced analytics models based on data from gamer survey respondents who made purchases in a simulated online store that included other titles they were considering for purchase.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Steve Cooley: [email protected]

About Blue Owl AI: Blue Owl AI is a leading analytics and AI firm providing data-driven insights and expertise to help game developers and publishers optimize their strategies to maximize sales and player engagement. Blue Owl AI gathers survey research 24/7/365, sizes opportunities, models the best pricing to drive revenue, and profiles gamers so publishers can grow revenues. Insights are delivered in seconds to web browsers on any device. For information about this research, contact jeff.brazell@blueowlai.com.