Apex Legends, once considered PUBG replacement, is running out of steam

EA’s Apex Legends was an instant hit. At one point it was even seen as successor to popular Fortnite and PUBG.

Apex Legends: What went wrong? (Apex Legends)

Electronic Arts tried to ride on the popularity of PUBG Mobile and Fortnite with its own battle royale game, Apex Legends. Launched in February this year, EA's Apex Legends gained instant popularity as 25 million players signed up for the game in less than a week of its debut. Months later, Apex Legends is losing steam.

According to reports, Apex Legends' Twitch viewership has declined to 30,000. This is a significant drop from 350,000 viewership on Twitch in early February. Search queries for the game have also dropped. Some top gamers who endorsed Apex Legends have now moved to Fortnite. It may be recalled EA paid about $1 million to Tyler Blevins, a popular gamer who is also known as 'Ninja', to promote the game.

Seeking Alpha, a market Insights & financial analysis firm, noted that Apex Legends could help add just $1.8 to $2.8 billion value, lesser than the previous estimate of $7.4 billion.

One of the reasons behind Apex Legends' popularity is considered to be the game's slow updates compared to Fortnite and PUBG. These two viral mobile games keep rolling out new features, content and campaigns to engage with current players while attracting new players.

Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella admitted the company needed to improve communication with its community. He also acknowledged that his team was surprised by the success of the game and have still not figured out what's the right strategy. Zampella pointed out that his team is still deciding on basic issues such as whether three players is right squad size.