Steven R. February 8, 2019
Apex Legends’ momentum is growing at an exponential rate.
In the 72 hours since launch, EA Games’ new free-to-play battle royale has attracted over 10 million new users and reached over 1 million concurrent players. The news was announced by Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella in a statement on EA Games’ website.
“We hoped you’d love it as much as us, but never in our wildest dreams could we have expected the outpouring of support and positivity we’ve seen,” said Zampella.
If it feels like Apex Legends came out of nowhere, that feeling is justified.
Developed in secret by the team behind popular mech shooter Titanfall, Apex Legends was launched on February 4 shortly after being unveiled during a YouTube livestream. The game differentiates itself from other titles by taking elements of first-person “hero shooters” like Overwatch and transplanting them into a battle royale environment.
In the days since launch, it has caught the eye of an overwhelming number of gamers, with one million downloading it within eight hours and 2.5 million trying it out by the end of the first day. It quickly gained player totals rivaling genre staple PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and now boasts numbers that can rival Fortnite.
This applies to the streaming arena as well. With prominent personalities like Ninja and Dr. Disrespect skipping their usual routine in favor of playing Apex Legends, the game has dominated Twitch viewership totals.
This early boom of momentum has many wondering if Apex Legends could unseat Fortnite as the top game in the battle royale genre. It’s far too early to tell, but it is certainly trending in a positive direction.