Fortnite records lowest player count in two years

Jonno Nicholson
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Image of Fortnite players gliding through dark sky while holding weapons. An exploding building is in the background
Image credit: Epic Games

Fortnite has recorded its lowest player count in two years following its latest collaboration with the Star Wars franchise.

Ahead of the season-ending Death Star Sabotage event within the battle royale title, the average player count has dropped below one million players for the first time since 2023.

According to Fortnite data platform Fortnite.gg, the average player count over the last 30 days dropped to 994,711, the lowest figure recorded since May 2023 (927,403). Since May 2023, the average player count has remained over one million players.

While the low player count could be due to the latest Star Wars collaboration, the title has seen a gradual decline since the beginning of 2025.

The figure is the continuation of a declining player count, which began in December 2024 when the average player count reached 2.1 million. Over the past six months, the average has continued to fall month-on-month.

However, despite the decline, Fortnite continues to maintain its position as one of the most popular battle royale titles in the world.

Is Fortnite Esports Impacted by Low Player Count?

With Fortnite’s esports circuit operating on an open system where all its players are eligible to compete, many players are still loading into competitive matches for a chance to compete among the best players in the world.

Alongside several continuing to drop into the action, fans of the battle royale are still tuning into FNCS tournaments. The 2025 edition of the FNCS Pro-Am recorded over 600,000 peak viewers while Peter ‘Peterbot’ Kata and Shaun ‘AussieAntics’ Cochrane took home the title.

Fortnite’s Chapter 6 Season 4 update is set to launch on June 7th, 2025, and has the potential to stop the declining player count as fans return to experience the new features on offer.

Jonno Nicholson

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Jonno is a writer for Esports Insider and has been part of the team since 2019. Over the past ten years, he's written for several outlets including Gfinity, GGRecon, and Radio Times. As an avid sim racer, he aims to provide insight on one of the fastest growing sectors in esports.
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