Is Apex Legends currently in the best shape its been since launch? Subjective elements aside, the answer has to be a resounding yes, does it not? Packed with more content than ever before, a somewhat well-balanced metagame and a series of new modes and map changes introduced with Season 2, developer Respawn should be riding high on a wave of positivity right now. Strange it assuredly is, then, that despite all the excitement surrounding Battle Charge’s launch last week, that the battle royale is still struggling to keep itself in publisher EA’s good books.
According to a recent report, in fact, the shooter may well be responsible for causing a remarkably large fall in share price for the latter. As noted by CNBC, shares for EA fell more than 5% in Friday trading, just three days following the release of Season 2. There’s no way of decisively telling if the two events are connected, of course, but the correlation is clear as day. Even a hearty helping of new content isn’t enough to turn around Apex Legends‘ fortunes, it seems. One need only take a cursory glance at Twitch figures to discern that much.
Just 45,000 viewers tuned in to watch streams of the title immediately following Season 2’s arrival. A meagre figure indeed when compared with the 100,000 recorded on a typical day in March. Should this be taken to mean that Apex Legends is destined for an early grave? Not at all. With both Activision and Take-Two both recording similar share falls in the same period, EA certainly isn’t alone in needing to court potential investors.
We’ll see what the future brings but for now, Apex Legends is, generally speaking, currently in a strong position. If Respawn can address issues regarding XP throttling and Wattson’s lack of impact on the metagame, then all the better. Stay tuned.
