In December 2023, Epic Games became the leading publisher by monthly active user (MAU) share across PlayStation and Xbox, surpassing long-standing leader EA. This is a significant milestone for the company, and was fuelled by the astonishing growth of Fortnite over the last two months of the year.

Fortnite continues its meteoric growth

In November 2023, total hours spent in Fortnite increased by around 146% month-on-month and this momentum tipped over into December with a further 9% growth. In fact, within the month, console gamers spent more time in Fortnite than in Call of Duty HQ*, EA Sports FC 24, Grand Theft Auto V/Online, and Roblox combined; more than 1.6bn total hours. Monthly active users for that period also saw a modest increase, but post-holiday season, and as the novelty of LEGO Fortnite wears off, Ampere expects engagement to normalise in the coming months. Although the confirmed 2024 return of Fortnite OG - the November 2023 content update which triggered the game’s highest all-time player count - could see its absolute dominance persist.

Take-Two leapfrogs Activision Blizzard thanks to GTA V, LEGO 2K Drive surge

Elsewhere in the rankings, Take-Two claimed an additional 1.5% share month-on-month as GTA V/Online leads the biggest active user gains for December 2023. This pushes the publisher above Activision Blizzard, despite Call of Duty performing relatively strongly over the holiday season. Diablo IV, however, has begun to wane, with the average player spending around 10 hours less in-game than they did the month prior: a huge drop in attention. It is worth noting that, combined, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft would sit at the top of the chart at a 14.4% share.

A combination of factors fuelled such strong growth for GTA V/Online, including the first-look GTA VI trailer, a sizable new content drop (‘The Chop Shop’), and the game’s addition to PS Plus Essential as a monthly free title. Take-Two’s kart-racer LEGO 2K Drive also gained around 2m active console users in December, contributing to the publisher’s ascent. The title launched back in May 2023, but was added to PS Plus over the holiday period, and conveniently lined up with the launch of LEGO Fortnite – undoubtedly leading to cross-pollination via the LEGO brand.