The meteoric rise and subsequent global takeover of Fornite has been nothing short of extraordinary, we all know that.

However, things are looking a little tentative as Epic’s battle royale title celebrates its first birthday.

Data from our friends over at Matchmade has captured a significant decrease in views for the game between May and July. The game hasn’t actually seen a dip in interest this noticeable before.

Could Fortnite be approaching the end of it’s cycle, preparing to fade into obscurity like many fads before it? Probably not, but a drop of such significance could mean a few things for the game.

Data ditch

At the end of May 2018, Fortnite on YouTube had amassed 6.7 billion views. The decline begins just after that.

By the end of June 2018, Fortnite had only amassed 5.3 billion views. While that’s still more than double the figures of the second biggest title (Minecraft) - that's a 35 per cent drop off in views and the biggest dip Fortnite has experienced since launch.

The decline continues throughout July, and by the end of the month Fortnite had only 4.6 billion views on YouTube. By this point, Fortnite’s line is starting to look suspiciously similar to Minecraft’s.

Stats sinkhole

Could this be the beginning of the end for the battle royale epic?

Fortnite is still reigning supreme, clearly. A year on from its release the game is still making headlines and annoying parents like there’s no tomorrow, but it’s hard to ignore the extreme decline in interest.

In fact, it’s not just YouTube that is experiencing a Fortnite draught. Over on Twitch, League of Legends has regained first place in the most popular games tab.

That might change whenever Ninja goes live on Twitch, but the fact that Fortnite has fallen from the top at all marks a decline in popularity.

Fortnite clearly isn’t going anywhere. However, its popularity and impact on the gaming space may not have the same longevity as Minecraft did and the data hints that perhaps the battle royale blockbuster has peaked.