Initially, it was uncertain the range that Apex Legends would extend to coming its abrupt release back in February 2019. However, developer Repsawn Entertainment while already recognized for the stellar releases of Titanfall & Titanfall 2 shipped what would later become one of the most successful battle royale entries to date. Most recently, Electronic Arts recorded more than $1 billion in revenue generated from the free-to-play experience.
Additionally, it was also discovered that more than 100 million players logged into Apex Legends since arriving more than two years ago. Now, the ongoing live service is expected to continue to shape into a malleable experience with mobile versions on the way. Recently, regional playtests went out for the game showing promise for the new market.
While starting off 2021 reviewing player base for Apex Legends growing roughly 30 percent YoY, the end of Season 9 reveals that the game surmounted more than 13 million concurrent users during. Electronic Arts President & CEO Andrew Wilson elaborates on the discovery:
This year, this is led by Apex Legends and Battlefield – two of the leading franchises in their category. Apex Legends continues to accelerate as one of the top titles in the industry. During Season 9 we’ve averaged more than 13 million weekly active players, we’ve set a new record for peak daily players across all seasons, and the three latest in-game events have driven the highest player counts for events to date.
In every season and event, the Respawn team is constantly innovating, trying new things, and gathering feedback to evolve the live service – and as a result, player engagement and investment continues to grow.
Respawn is now expanding the game beyond battle royale with new experiences like Arenas, which has brought new and lapsed players into the game and opens the door for deeper esports opportunities. With so much excitement in the community for the future of Apex Legends, we see outstanding growth ahead for this powerful global franchise.
Elsewhere, Electronic Arts Blake Jorgensen, CFO & COO, spoke on behalf of Apex Legends’ future with mobile. He tells that the release is expected to drop by the end of 2021 or perhaps even early 2022 at a global scale – including China. Battlefield’s pursuit for mobile is also said to coincide as Electronic Arts presses heavily on the AAA market within mobile gaming.
“Think about Apex Mobile. We’ve said that we have very little in this year. We’re in test market, and we should be out in the global markets in China next year, if not earlier. That could be a huge driver in profitability going forward. We have the potential of live services around Battlefield as well as a Battlefield mobile game coming up. And we clearly have other games planned, such as a Need for Speed or others that are coming, which you’ll hear more about in the future.”
Jorgensen also explains that the venture for mobile users is also including Need for Speed as well, but is yet to press on what that means just yet. Currently, the next Need for Speed title is on the backburner as developer Criterion Games assists with the development of Battlefield 2042. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you excited for the future of Apex Legends with the current momentum recorded?
Apex Legends out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC; playable via backwards compatibility for Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5.
Source: Electronic Arts, (1)
