DFC Intelligence uses multiple tracking tools to monitor the popularity of PC games.\u00a0 One tool is the System Requirements Lab user base of 1.5 million gamers.\u00a0 The number of gamers testing for a given title has proven to be a solid indicator of popularity and usage.<\/p>\n
System Requirements Lab was one of the few trackers not seeing a major uptick in Minecraft in the first part of 2019.\u00a0 This changed during the summer as Minecraft soared.\u00a0 Normally summer usage is down for most games.\u00a0 Minecraft was up 45% in August.<\/p>\n
![\"Minecraft](\"https:\/\/www.dfcint.com\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/minecraftaugust.jpg\")
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DFC recently released the report Battle Royale Games: Analysis and Forecasts<\/a>.\u00a0 A key takeaway was that games like Fortnite are market expansive in the sense that they add new users and do not necessarily take away from the established user base.<\/p>\n Minecraft seems to fit in the same market expansive category of Fortnite.\u00a0 However, among a younger audience of core gamers, Minecraft is actually still hip.\u00a0 In DFC Intelligence\u2019s April survey of 1,500 core PC gamers, Minecraft remained the most popular game.<\/p>\n Among core gamers, Fortnite was actually one of the least popular we tested.\u00a0 68% of gamers had tried Fortnite, but of that 39 % did not like it.\u00a0 In contrast, Minecraft had been tried by 86% with only 10% who did not like it.<\/p>\n So, what does this all mean?<\/p>\n For Microsoft, Minecraft could be more valuable than Halo or even the whole Xbox brand.\u00a0 Of course, that is assuming Microsoft plays its cards right.\u00a0 Based on the track record that may be wishful thinking.\u00a0 The challenge will be to build Minecraft with the masses while keeping it relevant to a core audience.<\/p>\n The good news is that much of Minecraft is user-created content.\u00a0 This is becoming a key trend for the future of video games.\u00a0 This includes the battle royale genre.<\/p>\n Battle royale started as mods to popular games.\u00a0 Minecraft actually has all kinds of battle royale capabilities.\u00a0 The Minecraft Hunger Games battle royale modes have been popular for many years.<\/p>\n Minecraft maybe ten years old, but it is the future of gaming.\u00a0 Microsoft will look to use it for a multi-platform approach and to test cloud gaming services and new augmented reality products.\u00a0 A graphically enhanced version of Minecraft will be used to sell high-end Nvidia graphic cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n When we were first reporting on Minecraft back in 2010<\/a> it was just approaching one million in sales.\u00a0 We described how it flew under the radar of most observers because it was a trend among younger core gamers. Even in 2019 we would argue that many mainstream executives, investors and older gamers simply do not get Minecraft.<\/p>\n Back in 2010, DFC wrote:<\/p>\n Minecraft is tapping into the need of many core PC gamers to create and not just play, something that has been diminished since the original modding scene that grew up around Doom, Dark Forces, Quake and Half-Life<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n That attraction not only remains today but has grown exponentially.\u00a0 Roblox<\/a> is a similar type of game\/gaming platform that many older gamers simply don\u2019t understand.\u00a0 It is all about users generating their own content.\u00a0 A big allure is a possibility of users making money from selling the content they create.<\/p>\n It is notable that the large publishers of AAA game content have not been able to get on board the movement of the Minecraft generation.\u00a0 The hardware manufacturers (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) have experimented in this area, but much of the investment has come from Asian companies, most notably Tencent.<\/p>\n![\"Minecraft](\"https:\/\/www.dfcint.com\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/battleroyalelike.jpg\")
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