The Relationship Between Fortnite, Parents and Their Children

Fortnite, the free-to-play battle royale, has become one of the best earning games of the year in no small part due to the millions of children who log on every day to play. Recent figures say the hit game has over 120 million active players with 68% of those players being between the age of 10 and 30. Fortnite has clearly captured the attention of children like few games before it have done. As a result, parents across the country are confused, and as our data suggests, also have slightly emptier pockets. ValueGamers commissioned a survey of 141 parents and found Fortnite, a game that is completely free to play, is actually costing parents 2x what they would pay for any other game. Our survey found:

Parents spend an average $122 for their children on Fortnite with a median of $40$122 is 2x the typical cost of new video games despite Fortnite being free1/10 parents have spent more than $200 on Fortnite for their children2/5 children ask weekly to buy things on Fortnite2/5 kids play Fortnite for more than 6 hours at once1/2 parents think Fortnite is good for their kids

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Parents Have Spent an Average of $122 on Fortnite

Fortnite is free, but players can make in-game purchases for things like skins to customize their player avatar. It’s been reported that Epic Games, the developers of Fortnite, are bringing in roughly $300 million per month – just based on these in-game transactions. Another growing trend is parents spending money on coaches to help improve their childrens’ skills. Of the 141 parents we surveyed, the average amount they’ve spent on Fortnite for their kids was $122.17 in total with a median value of $40.

To put into perspective, newly released games typically cost between $60 and $70 meaning parents are spending roughly 2x the typical price on Fortnite – a game that is technically free. Furthermore, about 12% of parents reported spending over $200 on their children. 9% of parents will give their children over $150 per week to spend on Fortnite. One parent reported spending over $4,800 on their children. On the other hand about 18% of parents reported giving their children no money to spend on Fortnite. On a per week basis, 31% of parents report giving their children less than $10 per week on Fortnite.

38% of Children Ask Their Parents to Buy Things on Fortnite Weekly

We asked parents how often their children ask to buy things on Fortnite. Their responses painted a picture of nearly 40% of children asking their parents weekly to buy things on Fortnite. 14% of kids ask daily while 23% ask a few times per week. Tellingly, only 15% of children did not ask their parents for money at all. That matches up nicely with the 18% of parents who have never given their children money for the game. One could make the assumption that if a child asks a parent for Fortnite money, the parent will oblige in most cases.

Nearly 1/5 Kids Plays Fortnite for More Than 8 Hours at Once

About 16% of parents said their children play Fortnite for over 8 hours at one time. Another 20% of parents said their kids play between 6 and 8 hours at a time. In total 2/5 of kids are playing Fortnite for over 6 hours every time they play. Fortunately perhaps, most children are not devoting entire days to the game according to our survey. 55% of the surveyed parents responded their kids play Fortnite for 2 to 4 hours at one time – roughly the length of a Saturday morning or some down time after school.

Parents Are Split On Their Opinion of Fortnite

We asked parents whether they liked or disliked Fortnite because it taught their children valuable skills or because it was a tool for socializing or both. 60% of the parent’s we surveyed had a positive opinion on Fortnite while 40% had a more negative opinion. About 1 and 3 parents thought Fortnite both taught their children valuable skills and was a good tool for socializing. Only 9% of parents thought the game was detrimental on both accounts. Interestingly, 23% of parents think Fortnite is bad because their children should be socializing in public.

Fortnite is…# of ResponsesResponse PercentGood, because its a way for my children to socialize2820%Good, because I think it teaches my children some valuable skills1511%A & B3827%Bad, because my children should be socializing in public3021%Bad, because it doesn’t teach my children any valuable skills1913%C & D118%

Methodology and Limitation of Study

For this study we commissioned a survey through SurveyMonkey to ask parents about their children and their Fortnite playing behavior. ValueGamers wanted to understand how parents have been approaching Fortnite financially, how long they allowed their children to play and what their view on the game was. In total, our survey received 141 responses from a wide audience of parents across the United States. With 141 responses the margin of error for our study is approximately 8% for a 95% confidence interval. To see a full list of questions our survey asked see below. To see how our data broke down, visit our GitHub page here. Note: we did not use data from every question in our survey for this analysis.

Questions in Our SurveyDo You Have Children that Play Fortnite?How Familiar With Fortnite Are You?How Often Do Your Children Play Fortnite?On Average, How Long Do Your Children Play Fortnite at Once?How Often Do Your Children Ask to Buy Things on Fortnite?How Much Will You Give Your Children to Spend on Fortnite per WeekIn Total, How Much Have You Spent on Fortnite on Behalf of Your Children?In Your Opinion, Fortnite is…