Apex Legends is now 5 years previous, and nonetheless going robust. The sport is at present headed towards season 23 in early November, and whereas its participant numbers aren’t fairly on the heights they was, the hero shooter nonetheless appears to be doing all proper for itself. Some firms is perhaps pondering proper about now as to how they will refresh and replenish that playerbase with a sequel, however EA CEO Andrew Wilson does not appear .
Throughout in the present day’s Q2 earnings name, Wilson said in reply to an investor query that enormous dwell service video games akin to Apex that attain large audiences should proceed to creatively innovate and replace, or they threat shedding that coveted high spot. For that cause, he continued, EA acknowledges a “want for significant systematic innovation that essentially adjustments the best way the sport performs,” and stated that that is one thing the groups are actively engaged on.
As a comply with up, another person requested him that because the groups are engaged on that “systematic rethink of Apex,” in the event that they’re contemplating doing “a complete studs-up rebuild” on one thing like an “Apex 2.0”, versus incremental change over time.
Wilson’s reply? No. This is his response in full:
Sometimes, what we now have seen within the context of dwell service-driven video games at scale is the ‘model two’ factor has nearly by no means been as profitable because the ‘model one’ factor. And so really the target proper now’s to make sure that we’re persevering with to assist the worldwide playerbase that we now have, and ship them new, progressive, inventive content material on a season-by-season foundation, in addition to construct these different issues, however construct them in a manner that gamers don’t have to surrender the progress that they’ve made or the funding that they’ve put into the present ecosystem. Anytime we trigger a worldwide participant neighborhood to have to decide on between the investments they’ve made up to now and future innovation and creativity, that is by no means a very good place to place our neighborhood in.
Our goal will probably be to proceed to innovate within the core expertise…after which construct further alternatives for engagement in several modalities of play past what the present core mechanic delivers. And we expect we will do these two issues collectively, and we do not imagine we now have to separate the expertise so as to take action.
So, per Wilson, no Apex 2.0 for the foreseeable future, however there’s some kind of “systemic innovation” on the horizon that would shake-up Apex Legends in a giant manner. The excellent news is that Wilson’s feedback appear to jive with what the builders need too. Final yr, Respawn’s recreation director Steve Ferreira advised GameSpot that the studio does not wish to ever put the sport ready the place the one possibility is to close the entire thing down and launch Apex Legends 2, calling the concept an “anti-vision.”
EA reported a file Q2 in the present day, with $2.08 billion in internet bookings, and The Sims 4 gaining 15 million gamers in 2024. Apex Legends just lately adjusted the way it discloses loot field reward odds to gamers, and is gearing up for the beginning of Season 23 on November 5.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You could find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Obtained a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.
