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- Apex Legends' player count is on the rise with a 30% increase seen over the previous year according to EA's earnings call report.
- It is estimated that the game has over 100 million players and more are expected to join when the mobile version is available.
- The game's esports scene is also seeing major improvements and esports viewership is at an all-time high.
Apex Legends’ player count skyrocketed on Steam recently long after the Fight Night event ended. The game is seeing tremendous organic growth and EA revealed that the game had a 30% increase in playerbase in their latest earnings call. With a mobile version rumoured to be in the works and a Switch version already out, the Apex Legends player count is solid as ever. Why is the Apex Legends player count rapidly increasing and how many players still play the game, 2 years after its release? Let’s find out.
How many people play Apex Legends? Player count in 2021
On 14th April 2021, Apex Legends confirmed that over 100 million players play the game. According to a report published on Statista, Apex Legends hit 75 million players in September 2019 following which EA reported a 30% growth in its earnings call. Recently, the player count in Steam jumped by over 50% between January and February, towards the middle of Season 8 which makes the numbers even more impressive.
Respawn did not have high expectations from the game and managed to hit 1 million players within 24 hours from launch in February 2019. By the first week, the game clocked 25 million players and 50 million players signed up within the first month. For a game that launched with no marketing, the numbers were impressive. Respawn made use of streamers and YouTubers to promote the game and increase the Apex Legends player count through word-of-mouth marketing. Two years on, EA has not reported any official figures. However, there are some stats we can go by to report the Apex Legends player count.
Apex Legends launched on Switch on March 9 and a mobile release is expected later this year which will push up the total player count even higher. Apex Legends esports is also seeing increased interest with the Respawn team talking about how much they want to improve the official EA-sanctioned ALGS tournament.
Why is Apex Legends Still Popular?
Two of the reasons behind the Apex Legends player count rapidly increasing can be attributed to the gameplay mechanics that were industry-firsts in the battle royale genre. Prior to the release of the game, there were no respawn mechanics in games like PUBG. If you were downed and killed, that was the end for you. With the release of Apex, Respawn Entertainment introduced the ability to grab “player banners” and respawn players in specific locations in the map or with a mobile respawn beacon.
The popular ping system is one of the best in the industry, allowing players to communicate with each other without requiring voice communications. You can request items, mark enemies, alert your teammates of third parties and a whole lot more. Both of these features make the game stand out in addition to its rich lore, a vibrant cast of characters and Respawn’s efforts towards improving the game.
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