It’s been almost two weeks since popular gaming title Apex Legends has come out and it has been deemed as the ‘Fortnite killer.’
Apex Legends is a new multiplayer game that mimicks the same popular ‘Battle Royale’ style of First-Person Shooters that is found in titles such as Fortnite and Playerunkown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). Apex Legends was able to attract over 25 million players during its launch on February 4th with little to no notice. The game had no official advertising campaign, using mostly online content creators/online streamers to advertise the game. The game has also gone on to exceed Fortnite’s highest single-day Twitch viewership.
In an interview with Business Insider, Mike Gamble—lead producer of BioWare, a game company based in Edmonton, says “No one really knew how much it would take off […] It’s taken off in a big way, which is great! We’re still all part of the EA Studios culture, so when one of our teams does really well on something, we all applaud it.” BioWare has the same parent organization as the studio behind Apex Legends.
As a response to the migrating fanbase, Fortnite has announced that players can receive a ‘Battle Pass’ for free by returning to the game and completing a set of challenges. The Battle Pass is an in-game item that users usually pay just over $10 for, which allows Fortnite users to unlock in-game cosmetic items. Many users took to social media to call the game out for using this as a ploy to win back users.
Lol, Fortnite keep telling me if I play their "game" again I can earn a free Battle Pass.
I would but… I really gotta finish this Apex Legends game, and the one after this.
— Nathorix (@Nathorix) February 15, 2019
The game was released by Respawn Entertainment under Electronic Arts (or EA Studios). Respawn has also developed titles like Titanfall and is currently working on a virtual reality project, and a new Star Wars title. Their new title Apex Legends is available on multiple platforms including Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.
