Compared to its peers, Apex Legends has a leg-up as far as its core gunplay is concerned, but it’s far from a one-trick pony. With innovative features such as its ping system and mid-game respawns (both of which have since been adopted by Fortnite, by the way), it’s easy to see why players flocked to Kings Canyon back in February. In the months following launch, however, a poorly communicated content model and lacklustre Battle Pass have seen the genre newcomer hit with a lull in popularity.
It’s likely the case, then, that but a fraction of the title’s recorded 50 million players are still logging hours on a regular basis, but recent events have somewhat triggered a resurgence of interest. Respawn has made a concerted effort to be more communicative with fans, with recent blog posts going into serious detail regarding ongoing issues, but where does it plan to go next?
As is the natural evolutionary cycle of any battle royale, the answer is simple: Mobile.
As part of its most recent earnings call, publisher EA went into great detail regarding Apex‘s initial explosive success. “Apex Legends is easily the fastest-growing franchise we’ve ever had, and we hope to build a live service that entertains players for years to come,” reads the opening statement, before outlining plans for future growth. “We are in advanced negotiations to bring Apex Legends to China and to mobile, and we will update you on time frames when those negotiations are concluded.”
The report stops short of providing any further details beyond that statement of intent, so it’s not clear how far, exactly, negotiations have progressed. The burning question now, besides the potential release date, is how EA plans to handle the hot property’s future transition to mobile. Will Respawn be taking charge with the port, or will the former task one of its several other subsidiaries with the job? Time will tell, but one thing we can be sure of is its release on iOS and Android will open Apex Legends up to an entirely new audience.
For now, that’s all there is to share, but expect further details to come as the project progresses. Stay tuned.
Published: May 8, 2019 09:08 am