Apex Legends
GameBy Respawn Entertainment · Released Feb 4, 2019
Documents about Apex Legends
Market Wire: December 5, 2022
This market analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the video game industry as of early December 2022, focusing on performance trends, platform dynamics, and emerging technological shifts.
- Mobile gaming revenue is cooling after its pandemic-era peak, with worldwide consumer spend dropping from a high of $7.73 billion in July 2021 to $6.5 billion in September 2022, though it remains above pre-pandemic levels.
- Apple and Google named Apex Legends Mobile their game of the year, a decision driven by the title's ability to showcase high-end hardware performance and avoid the negative PR associated with aggressive monetization seen in competitors like Diablo Immortal.
- The gaming industry saw significant consolidation in 2022, marked by major acquisitions including Microsoft’s bid for Activision Blizzard, Sony’s purchase of Bungie, and Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga.
EA VP of Esports Brent Koning Exits Company
Brent Koning has departed Electronic Arts after a tenure of more than six years, during which he played a significant role in the company’s competitive gaming division.
- Brent Konig has departed Electronic Arts after more than six years of service, most recently holding the position of Vice President of Esports.
- In his final role, Konig oversaw EA’s competitive gaming portfolio, including titles such as Apex Legends and FIFA, from the company’s London offices.
- Konig was promoted to his most recent VP of Esports role in May 2022, following a year as VP of FIFA competitive gaming based in Redwood, California.
Electronic Arts 10-Q — Q3 FY2022 (November 2022)
Electronic Arts’ Q3 FY2022 10-Q delivers a detailed snapshot of the company’s financial performance and strategic posture for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.
- Electronic Arts reported a 4% year-over-year increase in net revenue to $1.90 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, with operating income surging 26% to $427 million.
- Live-service and recurring revenue streams grew by 8%, contributing significantly to an improved gross margin of 75.7%.
- Digital full-game downloads now represent approximately 65% of total units sold, a strategic shift that is lowering distribution costs and enhancing overall profitability.
Pathmatics Gaming Taxonomy
Pathmatics has introduced a specialized gaming taxonomy designed to provide granular visibility into the digital advertising landscape of the gaming industry.
- Pathmatics has launched a new gaming taxonomy to categorize digital advertising spend across sub-sectors including Video Game Publishers, Online Betting, Distribution, and Hardware.
- Gaming advertisers spent approximately $2.5 billion on digital advertising in the United States between January and October 2022.
- The Mobile Battle Royale category generated nearly $40 million in advertising spend during the first nine months of 2022.
Plus: We Welcome Our New Steam Chart Overlords
This analysis examines the significant 2022 update to Valve’s Steam charts and provides a comprehensive performance review of recent PC and console game releases.
- Valve’s 2022 Steam chart update now ranks games by total revenue, including DLC and in-game transactions, rather than unit sales, which inherently favors live-service titles like Apex Legends and Destiny 2 over premium releases.
- Slime Rancher 2 achieved strong market performance by selling over 100,000 units within six hours of release and peaking at more than 21,500 concurrent users.
- Established franchises and niche simulators remain high-performing, with Construction Simulator and Return to Monkey Island reaching 17,300 and 15,500 concurrent users respectively.
Analyst Bulletin: Mobile Game Market Review July 2022
The July 2022 mobile game market review provides a comprehensive analysis of significant industry trends, content updates, and event strategies across the United States, China, and Japan.
- Major mobile titles including PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact, and Diablo Immortal leveraged high-profile content updates and collaborations in July 2022 to drive player engagement and revenue.
- Music-themed integrations became a dominant trend, highlighted by the BLACKPINK virtual concert in PUBG Mobile and the introduction of a BGM collection system in Puzzle & Dragons.
- Collaborations remained a primary event strategy, exemplified by Cookie Run: Kingdom’s 50-day Disney partnership and Langrisser’s limited-time event with the Gintama anime series.
Apex Legends Mobile: Fighting the Competition
Apex Legends Mobile serves as a high-fidelity, squad-based battle royale experience designed to translate the core mechanics of its PC predecessor into a mobile-first environment.
- Japan is the most lucrative market for Apex Legends Mobile, generating 42% of lifetime revenue with an average revenue per download (RPD) of $3.70, significantly higher than the $0.75 RPD in the United States.
- Apex Legends Mobile utilizes a hero-based system that differentiates it from competitors like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile, allowing for deeper lore-based immersion and unique character-specific perk trees.
- The game employs a generous onboarding process that uses AI-controlled bots for the first 8 to 14 levels, ensuring new players have 4 to 6 hours of gameplay before facing real human opponents.
Bungie Reportedly Working on Destiny Mobile in Partnership with NetEase
Bungie is reportedly collaborating with NetEase to develop a new first-person shooter (FPS) mobile title based on the Destiny intellectual property.
- Bungie is developing a new, original first-person shooter mobile game based on the Destiny intellectual property in partnership with NetEase.
- The project has been in development for over two years and represents a strategic effort to expand the Destiny brand into the high-growth mobile gaming market.
- This collaboration builds on a 2018 financial relationship where NetEase invested $100 million in Bungie.
The Rise of Midcore Mobile Games Snapshot Report July 2022
The midcore mobile gaming sector is experiencing a significant shift as AAA developers and high-fidelity titles increasingly challenge the historical dominance of casual and hyper-casual games.
- Midcore mobile games were the only category to achieve revenue growth in the US iOS market between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022, now capturing 36.73% of total mobile gaming revenue.
- New midcore titles are outperforming casual games in long-term retention, with nine midcore releases from the past year remaining in the top 200 grossing chart compared to only three casual titles.
- Top-performing midcore titles like Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact, and Apex Legends Mobile prioritize console-like manual controls over autoplay mechanics to drive engagement.
The Rise of Midcore Mobile Games
This analysis explores the significant growth and evolving landscape of midcore mobile games, particularly in the United States market as of mid-2022.
- Midcore mobile games accounted for 37% of US iOS mobile game revenue in Q1 2022 and were the only category to experience year-over-year growth.
- Top-tier midcore titles demonstrate superior retention, with nine midcore games maintaining top-200 grossing positions over a 365-day period compared to only three casual titles.
- Monetization in top-grossing midcore titles is heavily standardized, with 75% of games utilizing Battle Passes and over 65% incorporating five or more distinct gacha mechanics.
Is Diablo Immortal Fun for Mortal Wallets? - The Metacast by Naavik
The gaming industry is currently navigating a critical transition as major franchises attempt to adapt their core experiences for mobile platforms and broader ecosystem expansion.
- Aggressive monetization in mobile titles like Diablo Immortal, where character upgrades can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, risks alienating core fanbases and inviting increased global regulatory scrutiny.
- Successful mobile adaptation of major franchises requires bespoke development rather than simple ports, as evidenced by the performance of Apex Legends Mobile.
- Long-term mobile viability is increasingly dependent on sophisticated live-ops, personalized player segmentation, and strategic partnerships with experienced developers like Tencent.
Mobile Game Market Review: May 2022
The mobile game market in May 2022 was characterized by significant global launches and a continued emphasis on retention-focused features and cooperative gameplay.
- Apex Legends Mobile launched globally in May 2022, reaching the top 23 in US grossing charts and the top 50 in Japan.
- The Chinese mobile market is seeing an accelerating trend of games incorporating roguelike elements, with three new top-200 grossing entrants in May alone featuring or claiming to feature the mechanic.
- Netmarble’s MMORPG Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds achieved a top 50 grossing position in the US immediately following its global launch.
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