"Fortnite" has surpassed PUBG due to its free-to-play no upfront cost business model, lower hardware requirements, less cheating problems and a more casual cartoon look that appeals to younger gamers.

• Google search volume interest for "Fortnite" exceeded "Minecraft" and bitcoin in recent weeks.
• Epic Games said in January the title has more than 45 million players.
• The publisher launched the free-to-play "Battle Royale" mode for "Fortnite" on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Mac in September, which led to a surge in the game's popularity.
• "Battle Royale" type games have 100 online players violently battle to the death until only one player survives.

At one point last month, 3.4 million people were playing the game at same time, likely making it "the biggest PC/console game in the world," Epic Games said. The company revealed in January the game has been played by more than 45 million people worldwide.

"Fortnite" is also consistently on top of the "most-played" list for Microsoft's Xbox One console and the most popular game on Twitch.

Epic Games launched the free-to-play "Battle Royale" mode for "Fortnite" on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Mac in September. Critics said the mode was a blatant knock-off of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" [PUBG], which was a big PC gaming success story last year.

"Battle Royale" type games have 100 online players violently battle to the death until only one player survives.

"Fortnite" has surpassed PUBG due to its free-to-play no upfront cost business model, lower hardware requirements, less cheating problems and a more casual cartoon look that appeals to younger gamers.