Apex Legends continues to grow in success and popularity. Not only is Apex Legends on its way to becoming a billion-dollar franchise for EA, but the game has already one-upped its previous Steam record just three months later.
Developer Respawn Entertainment released Apex Legends on Steam in November 2020, and not even a week later Apex Legends broke 100,000 concurrent players, beating out other huge games like Destiny 2 and Rust.
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According to stat tracking site Steam Charts, Apex Legends’ popularity on Steam is only continuing to rise with a gain of over 7,000 players per day on average. That success led to Apex Legends setting a new personal best by peaking yesterday at 129,928 players. While the game had a large dip in players during December, likely a result of people receiving other games during the holiday season, it appears to have come back stronger.
The rise in players at present is likely a mix of those trying to reach a higher level in Ranked to receive better rewards at the end of Season 7, and those excited for Season 8 to begin this week. Many fans have voiced their excitement for the return of Kings Canyon and the arrival of a new weapon, both notably absent from the Season 7.
Apex Legends’ popularity is likely to continue growing as it comes to more platforms. Apex Legends is confirmed to be in development both for the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The mobile version of Apex was delayed last November until fiscal year 2022, which lasts from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
The Switch version, on the other hand, looks to be coming soon. Apex Legends could arrive on Switch starting February 2, according to a recent Amazon listing, which is the same day that Season 8 begins. When asked for details on the Switch version via Twitter, Respawn Entertainment game director Chad Grenier said there will be some news, “Very soon.”
Apex Legends is also beginning to expand to other mediums as well. The game's first book releases this week with Pathfinder’s Quest, which is being published by Dark Horse. The new book will chronicle the robot’s quest to find his creator, continuing the story that began in his Stories from the Outlands released last month. While told from Pathfinder’s perspective, the book is said to contain new lore relating to many of the game’s Legends.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with Mobile and Switch versions in development.
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Sources: Steam Charts, Twitter