Apex Legends revenue plummets after disappointing Season 1
Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall-inspired battle royale, Apex Legends, has seen a massive decline in revenue since its record breaking first month, despite the much-anticipated launch of the game’s first ‘season.’
After a surprise release on February 4, SuperData reported that Apex Legends had enjoyed the “best launch month of any free-to-play game in history”, with estimated in-game spending of $92 million.
This was thanks to Fortnite Battle Royale, but the momentum soon stagnated.
The Havoc is the only new weapon added to Apex Legends since launch.With a prolonged wait for the release of Season 1, which brought a new legend and a battle pass, players first became impatient, and then when the season finally began, underwhelmed.
There were endless complaints about the quality and quantity of content available in the battle pass. Meanwhile, the lack of any new weapons or map changes meant the game was becoming stale for some.
These complaints have also been made with players’ wallets, it seems, as SuperData report on May 21 that Apex made only $24 million in April, “down significantly for the second month in a row,” meaning it falls out of the top 10 earners.
Apex is no longer among the top grossing games on any platform (not currently available on mobile).Is Season 2 the Last chance for Apex Legends?
Although $24 million a month from a free game is not a bad return, it’s still only just over a quarter of what the game raked in its first month, admittedly this was unsustainable however.
The future isn’t entirely bleak however, as Season 2 is just around the corner, and a mobile release has also been confirmed, although no date given yet.
Still, these are not positive signs for a game that was once on a seemingly unstoppable trajectory, and Respawn will be keen to address the dip in revenue. They recently made changes to the in-game store, but players were not happy about them, asking for a full rework.
Weapon and character skins cost 1,800 Apex Coins (~$18) in the store.Season 2 could be the last chance for Apex Legends to convince players to stay on board and continue to shell out cash on in-game items. But it will require an influx of new content, something which, so far, Respawn has shown a reluctancy to add in, at least at the rate players expect.
Since launch on February 4, there has still been only one gun added to Apex Legends. Compare this to the same time frame in that other popular battle royale game which adds a new weapon or item every two weeks, and the difference is stark.