Fortnite was the most-played Nintendo Switch game in Europe last year

Despite launching half-way through.

News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 14 Jan 2019

People only really play Nintendo games on Nintendo consoles, right?

Well, in 2018 at least, this was absolutely not true. The most-played Nintendo Switch game in Europe last year was, surprise, the all-conquering Fortnite.

Nintendo managed to snap up the other four places out of the top five most-played Nintendo Switch games, and seven places of the top 10.

The only third-party games in the top flight were Fortnite, top, then FIFA 19 and Minecraft, below such Switch stalwarts as Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee also made the top 10, despite their arrival very late in the year, alongside sprawling role-player Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Nintendo doesn't state how much these games were collectively played. And, of course, Fortnite is a free download. (Fellow freebies Pokémon Quest and Paladins made it into the top 20.)

Still, it's a powerful reminder of how popular Fortnite is - even on a platform which didn't host the game until the middle of last year.