Epic Games Vs. Apple Lawsuit Reveals Just How Much Money 'Fortnite' Has Made

A lot of eyes in the technology and gaming worlds are watching the fight between Epic Games and Apple AAPL.

The battle taking place in the courtroom could have an impact on the share prices of several companies and also change the revenue split structure between gaming companies and mobile operators.

What Happened: A court conference call to start the case faced problems from fans yelling “free Fortnite,” as the call was public and over 200 people were not muted for over 20 minutes.

The court case will feature Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, former Apple employees and employees from other companies who testify on behalf of the gaming company.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives will represent the giant technology company.

While fans are passionate about "Fortnite," Epic Games should be as well as the huge amount of money the gaming company made from the game was revealed publicly for the first time.

In 2018, "Fortnite" had $5.5 billion in sales. The following year the game rang up $3.7 billion, bringing in over $9 billion in sales in a two-year period for Epic Games.

Documents for the trial also show a drop in 2020 both from the prior years and from Epic Games' own forecasts.

Epic Games had predicted 2020 revenue of $2.8 billion to $3.6 billion. The company now sees revenue from "Fortnite" hitting $2.8 billion in fiscal 2020.

Monthly active users for "Fortnite" totaled 60.6 million in fiscal 2020, down from 65.1 million in the prior year.

The documents show that "Fortnite" was the main source of revenue for "Fortnite" and has a much larger impact than other owned games.

Related Link: Apple To Face Epic Games Antitrst Lawsuit Over Unfair App Store Practices Today 

What’s Next: The battle between Apple and Epic Games could see Fortnite added back to the iOS App Store. Decisions from the hearing could impact the amount Apple can charge publishers from revenue made on the iOS App Store.

Epic Games is 40% owned by Tencent Holdings ADR TCEHY. Shares of the large Asian technology giant could trade in reaction to news of a lower royalty rate for Apple or Fortnite being added back to Apple devices.

Fortnite is working on new plans for growth including further integration of its NBA partnership.

Internal documents from the company show an upcoming basketball mini-game featuring LeBron James and Zion Williamson. An in-game skin of LeBron James is also rumored to be coming soon, following skins of Marvel characters, NFL teams and soccer star Neymar.

Price Action: Tencent shares lost 1.78% Tuesday, closing at $78.70. 

Apple shares were down 3.54% at $127.85.