Publisher EA had its Q1 2020 earnings call, in which CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Blake Jorgensen shared some fascinating things about Apex Legends. It was revealed that despite a decline in its player-base since February 2019, Apex has still garnered success. With more than 8 million players weekly, the publisher believes that they can get at least 10 years out of Apex Legends. As part of a Q&A, Colin Sebastian of the Baird company asked “(on Apex) I was wondering more specifically what you see in reengagement with some of the early players in terms of what has drawn them back into the game?”
Here’s what Andrew Wilson had to say:
Yes. I would just come back to the comments that Blake just shared. And we have between 8 million to 10 million people engaging in this game on a week-by-week basis. That is large by any measure. It makes it one of the — probably the most engaging games. We have continued to see great fan sentiment inside that game. And we expect to continue to grow that audience over time. Again, when we think about Apex Legends, we set out to build something with longevity.
And at the very core is a great gameplay experience. And we know that long-term engagement involves the ongoing release of new content and the ongoing running of events, both of which the team at Respawn are doing with great success, but the very core of that is a great gameplay experience. And we’re building this in a way that we expect to continue to grow and continue to be a meaningful part of our business for a long time to come. And the sign of engagement that we see today lead us to believe that’s possible.
Blake Jorgensen added:
Yes. We think about this as almost like an annual title. We will continue to innovate that game and evolve that game over time and hope to believe—I believe that we have a 10 year run ahead of us or if not more. There’s so much potential and ways to change that game over time and add to that game. We think that there’s just huge potential in that and that’s how we’re managing it.
These quotes are telling. For one, it shows that Apex Legends has been lucrative for EA and Respawn and that both companies are committed to supporting it. 8-10 million players a week is certainly no easy feat and the fact that EA is planning for a 10-year run shows the company believes in it.
This also points to a release on next generation systems, which are rumored to release in the fall of 2020. EA didn’t outright say Apex will be coming to the PS5, but a 10-year plan surely points to that idea in mind. Though with confirmed backwards compatibility, it’s not entirely clear if it will just be the PS4 sku carried forward or if there will be an enhanced next-gen version of the game.
During that same earnings call, EA revealed that a heavily requested feature (they didn’t name specifically what) would be coming to the game in August of 2019, as well. You can read more about that here.
What do you think of EA’s support for Apex Legends? Let us know!
[Source: EA via MP1st]
