Apex Legends has been a phenomenon for EA, and the publisher said that 30% of its players are new to its games — an amazing statistic considering that EA has been making huge, popular games over a variety of genres since Trip Hawkins founded the company in 1982. CEO Andrew Wilson revealed the number today during an investor call going over EA’s quarterly earnings report.
But the biggest news is that EA is looking to bring Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale shooter to two of the most important gaming markets in the world — China and mobile.
“We’re in advanced negotiations to China and mobile,” COO and CFO Blake Jorgenson said.
Wilson also said that EA is looking to expand Apex Legends to new markets such as South Korea via Origin, EA’s PC gaming platform. EA will reveal more about Season 2 during EA Play in June.
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Jorgensen said that fiscal 2019 was its strongest year for live services, and free-to-play games like Apex Legends (which have microtransactions and season pass purchases) are a significant reason for this. It’s also the fastest-growing game for EA with over 50 million players since its surprise launch on February 4. EA also said that Anthem’s launch disappointed EA.
At our recent GamesBeat Summit, Respawn boss Vince Zampella said that his studio is working to improve communication with its players.
