As Apex Legends, Respawn's renowned battle royale, approaches its sixth anniversary, EA has acknowledged that the game is not meeting its financial expectations. In a recent financial call discussing the third quarter results, EA reported that Apex Legends net bookings were down year-over-year, although they aligned with the company's projections.
During the Q&A session with analysts, EA CEO Andrew Wilson addressed the performance of Apex Legends, emphasizing the game's significant player base but also its underwhelming revenue. "Apex is probably one of the great new launches in our industry over the last decade and has been loved by that core cohort, with over 200 million people playing the game," Wilson stated. "However, the trajectory of the business of that franchise has not been headed in the direction that we have wanted for some time. We have been trying, tuning, and testing many things in the context of the ongoing support of the community."
Wilson outlined three key areas of focus for the game's development:
- Supporting the Existing Community: This includes improving quality-of-life features, enhancing anti-cheat measures, and maintaining the core experience while also introducing new content.
- Content Development: Despite some progress, Wilson admitted that the results have not met expectations.
- Future Updates: EA is working on a significant update, dubbed Apex Legends 2.0, aimed at revitalizing the franchise, attracting new players, and boosting revenue.
Wilson emphasized that Apex Legends 2.0 will not be released simultaneously with the next Battlefield game, expected before April 2026. Instead, Apex Legends 2.0 is slated for release after the Battlefield launch, likely during EA's fiscal year ending March 2027.
"We do believe there will be a time where we need to do a more meaningful update of Apex as a broad game experience, and the team is diligently working on that," Wilson explained. "You should imagine we probably wouldn't drop that on top of a Battlefield launch. And so from a timing standpoint, our thinking right now is that that would exist post-Battlefield."
Looking further ahead, Wilson expressed confidence in Apex Legends' longevity, drawing parallels with EA's other long-lasting franchises. "Our expectation is that Apex will also be one of those franchises and that sometime on a longer-term time horizon, there will be an even bigger, more meaningful update to that broader game experience, an Apex 2.0, if you will. This will not be the final incarnation of Apex."
EA's approach to Apex Legends 2.0 echoes Activision's strategy with Call of Duty: Warzone, which saw a 2.0 reboot in 2022. While the success of such reboots varies, EA is keenly aware of the competitive landscape within the battle royale genre as it seeks to expand Apex Legends' player base.
Currently, Apex Legends remains a top-played game on Steam, measured by concurrent player count. However, it has yet to surpass its peak numbers on Valve's platform and is trending towards new lows.
