Battle Royale' Success Signals Mobile Gaming's Future

For “Fortnite: Battle Royale” players, these in-app purchases are just cosmetic: “skins” that change one’s appearance or “emotes” that allow avatars to dance, for example.

“These are things that are not necessarily tied to the mechanics of the game themselves but something that could be related to the player’s self-identity,” said D. Yvette Wohn, an assistant professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology who specializes in human computer interaction and social technologies.

The currency in “Fortnite: Battle Royale” is called V-Bucks, and 1,000 V-Bucks cost $10. Skins and outfits cost about 800 to 1,500 V-Bucks, and emotes are about 200.

“Especially if you’re spending a lot of time in the game, your character in the game becomes a part of your identity,” Wohn said in an interview May 2. “So why wouldn’t you want to spend money on clothes? Because that’s what you do offline, as well.”

Another element that experts said “Fortnite: Battle Royale” does well, that other games can’t seem to guarantee, is a seamless sync of in-game purchases. Items bought on the mobile version, which is an exact replica of the game on other platforms, instantly show up on players’ accounts on other platforms, to the delight of heavy multiplatform gamers.

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