Despite Decline In Recent Season, Apex Legends Is Shaping Up Greatly For Major Expansion Of The Universe, Says EA CEO

At the start of 2023, Apex Legends was on the bounce back of a drought for its player base with new records being set for the battle royale. Through Steam, a new concurrent player count was met over 600,000 users logged in then. This is due in part to the Season 16 – Revelry update revamping the live-service gameplay.

Since then, the title has fallen back slightly as the latest Season 17 – Arsenal failed to maintain that momentum. But, Apex Legends is heading into the right direction with its next season. Currently riding on the current ‘Neon Network Collection Event,’ the lore is thickening as more content opportunities are dropping into Apex Legends. 

And during the recent financial report from Electronic Arts, the publisher acknowledges the setback recently for Apex Legends, but is confident in the direction that Respawn Entertainment is taking the title looking ahead.

After a highly successful 16th season, we launched Season 17 in May with new variations of gameplay and monetization. While this new season did not meet our financial expectations, the team has applied important learnings — including new game mechanics to engage and retain players, which are already generating momentum. We will continue to reinforce the strengths of this franchise by introducing new modes of play and investing in regional marketing, as well as culturalization in key markets.

Wilson did go on to explain that retention is not the biggest issue Apex Legends is facing. “Apex Legends is one of the strongest franchises and live services in the industry with 18 million active monthly players and an impressive retention rate of over 70%.” He continues by elaborating that the team is preparing an “expansion of the Apex Legends universe across platforms, geographies, and modalities of play.”

Gathered from the wording, the team is exploring more options for Apex Legends. In particular, it could be concerning cross-progression officially on the roadmap for the battle royale. While no date has been mentioned, the last note to the feature was in July 2021 where the studio pressed that lobby hacking is delaying the feature. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you interested in the position that Apex Legends is heading into?

Source: Electronic Arts