Fortnite may not be at its peak anymore, but the latest player count suggests that Epic Games’ battle royale title is still much bigger than many people expected. Nearly nine years after its release, Fortnite continues to dominate not only the battle royale genre but gaming as a whole.
According to a newly discovered PlayStation widget, Fortnite ranked as the most-played game on the platform by a massive margin. The data, which appeared through a PS5 beta feature, showed the top games over a seven-day period and revealed just how far ahead Fortnite still is compared to other major titles.
Fortnite is still the most popular game in 2026
Based on the numbers shown, Fortnite pulled in an incredible 14.6 million players in a single week. While that figure may not sound groundbreaking at first glance, it becomes much more impressive when you realize the data only covers PlayStation 5 players in the United States.
The comparison to other games makes Fortnite’s dominance even clearer. GTA 5 reportedly reached 5.13 million players during the same period, while Minecraft was just under five million. Call of Duty ranked fourth with 4.95 million players. These are some of the biggest and most recognizable games in the industry, yet Fortnite was still nearly three times larger than each of them.
| Game | Weekly players |
|---|---|
| Fortnite | 14.6M |
| GTA 5 | 5.13M |
| Minecraft | 4.97M |
| Call of Duty | 4.95M |
| Apex Legends | 1.72M |
| Marvel Rivals | 1.58M |
| Battlefield 6 | 1.51M |
| ARC Raiders | 972K |
For a game that launched in 2017, this kind of staying power is remarkable. Most live-service games spend years struggling to remain relevant, but Fortnite has somehow managed to stay at the center of gaming culture for nearly a decade. Epic Games continues to reinvent the experience through seasonal updates, major collaborations, creator-made maps, concerts, and entirely new game modes.
The timing of these numbers is especially interesting because Epic Games laid off around 1,000 employees earlier this year. At the time, the company pointed to a slowdown in Fortnite engagement and admitted it was spending more money than it was making. However, Epic also emphasized that Fortnite remained one of the most successful games in the world, which is something these latest player numbers strongly support.
While Fortnite may no longer have the same cultural dominance it enjoyed during its absolute peak, it is clearly nowhere near weak. Compared to the rest of the gaming industry, the game still looks massive.
At this point, Fortnite has become more than just a game people play. It is now a platform, a social space, and one of the biggest entertainment ecosystems in gaming. With the game approaching its 10-year anniversary next year, it does not look like Fortnite is slowing down anytime soon.
For now, it appears that the Fortnite x Overwatch collaboration, which introduced many free rewards, will further increase the player count. Epic has also released a free wrap and several free Fortnite skins to keep players engaged and satisfied.
