More than a year has passed since the release of Apex Legends – and the game has performed much better than originally expected. How exactly? We’ll reveal that here.

Apex Legends was launched in early February 2019 – and most suspected that Electronic Arts only wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the Battle Royale genre. Yes, they probably did… And they did everything they could to make it work: EA spent a huge chunk of money on advertising and even hired famous Twitch streamers to push their product. In just a few days, Apex reached two million players, and after a week, 25 million. But it didn’t stop there. The numbers almost tripled by October: to 70 million.

The secret of success
How do you get such a large fan base? Through good gameplay and the successful battle royal genre. But that can’t be all. Because then what sets Apex apart from its competitors like Fortnite or PUBG? The latter offers players more realism, while Fortnite presents a colorful cartoon world with countless possibilities. Apex Legends is more or less caught between two stools here, because the game is a graphical feast for the eyes with a serious touch.

Strategically, it also gives a bit more than the others: It has many different characters, which in turn can specialize in many ways. And another special feature: The standard game mode is played in a team of three people – the competition doesn’t have that.

The update gods
Another success factor of the Apex makers: numerous updates that continuously maintain excitement and gameplay. Some added new characters and weapons, others introduced an entirely new map for players to explore. There were also changes to the old map, more neutral creeps, and and and…. Apex always keeps moving, listening to the criticism of its players and trying to improve the gameplay more and more.

The future of Apex Legends
Record player numbers, updates as far as the eye can see…. but where is Apex heading? And how many people are currently playing it? The latter is hard to say. The game’s popularity initially skyrocketed on Twitch – at one point, it was even the most streamed game. But then it slowly lost popularity.

Even though it is no longer the most streamed game today, the active players are numerous – and still captivated by the gameplay. So Apex Legends seems to have a bright future ahead of it. And: spoiler alert! EA has announced that they are already working on a mobile version of Apex. This will undoubtedly bring the game more players – especially in China, where the mobile market is huge. While there is no exact date, the company’s CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned that they plan to release the game in fiscal year 2021. Until then, happy apexing!

What is actually… “Apex Legends?

Within 24 hours, “Apex Legends” became the most-watched game on Twitch – after one week, over 25 million people were already playing it. What is the battle royale shooter about?

What is “Apex Legends” about?

Scenario: In a distant future, bandits, adventurers, and outlaws settle their disputes in a sporting contest to the death. The setting is a fertile, industrially developed valley on the edge of the galaxy.

• Genre: Battle Royale shooter
• Game modes: survival battle between a maximum of 20 teams of three.

At its core, “Apex Legends” is a classic battle-royale shooter: up to 60 players land simultaneously in teams of three on the game map called “Kings Canyon” – a densely built-up, fertile valley with many accessible houses, bunkers and towers. Once on the ground, unarmed players must search their surroundings for equipment and ammunition. The goal of the game is to stay alive until the end.

To prevent players from hiding all over the map and waiting to automatically be the last one left, the game area shrinks every few minutes. The longer a round lasts, the smaller the area where survivors can move and hide.

Apex Legends refreshes this now classic game formula with some ideas that are unique to the genre: For example, before starting a round, players select one of eight heroes, each of which has two special abilities and facilitates certain play styles.

Bangalore, for example, is the classic soldier who can conceal her position with smoke grenades and call in an artillery strike in an emergency. The heroine Lifeline, on the other hand, can summon a drone to heal teammates – or directly order the delivery of high-value weapons and equipment via aerial drone. This way, all players can find the right hero for their preferred course of action.

How can I play Apex Legends?

Platform: “Apex Legends” is available for PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Price: The battle royale shooter is a “Free to Play” title and can basically be played for free on all platforms.

In-game purchases: “Apex Legends” allows the purchase of cosmetic items and new heroes either by means of in-game currency, which can be earned for free in every round, or with real money. The real-money currency “Apex Coins” can be purchased in five different amounts: The smallest possible amount is 1000 Apex Points for around 9.99 euros, while the largest pack with 10,000 Apex Points content costs 99.99 euros.

The developer emphasizes that it is not possible to buy game advantages with the help of real money: You can only use it to customize the appearance of the heroes, it says, or purchase new heroes.

Age rating: “Apex Legends” does not have a youth rating (USK 18).

Which technical terms should you know?

Respawn Beacon: If a player is shot down, the team members who are still alive have the opportunity to bring the fallen comrade back into the game: Each eliminated player leaves behind a so-called Respawn Banner, which can be collected by the players of the own team and handed in at one of 28 Respawn Beacons, certain locations on the map. If this succeeds, the fallen player returns to the game.

Jumpmaster: At the beginning of the game, one of the maximum three players of a team always takes on the role of the jumpmaster. He decides when and where his team enters the game area.

Ping: Using the middle mouse button, players can alert their teammates to interesting locations in the game world or enemies. These pings are a valuable tool for communicating quickly and efficiently within the team.

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