EA’s new game ‘Apex Legends’ taking a shot at ‘Fortnite’

‘Dead by Daylight’ bringing scares to Nintendo Switch this Fall

LOS ANGELES, Feb 17, (RTRS): “Apex Legends”, the latest hit title by gaming company Electronic Arts Inc, is shaking up the online battle arena, but questions are lurking about how much fire power it has in the long-run and whether it can dislodge popular “Fortnite”.

After thrilling investors with its meteoric launch, “Apex Legends” fell briefly to the second spot Wednesday on streaming game site Twitch before retaking the crown.

Though the game was outdrawn by “Counter-Strike Global Offensive”, an older military shooter game with a solid e-sports fan base, it has made a strong showing on Twitch, hitting 688,000 peak live viewers – meaning that many people were watching others play the game on the streaming platform.

‘Apex Legends’ had a massive first week on Twitch. It generated more hours watched than any other game during its launch week in our history,” Michael Aragon, Twitch’s senior vice-president of content, said in an email.

Investors are closely watching signs of engagement with “Apex Legends” after driving EA shares up 27 percent on reports that the game, released 10 days ago, had drawn 25 million users in its first week.

That was more than twice the number the hugely popular game “Fortnite” signed up in the two weeks after its initial 2017 release. Like “Fortnite”, “Apex Legends” is a free-to-play so-called battle royale format, where dozens of players are dropped on an island to battle to the death.

The initial sign-up numbers for “Apex Legends” had cheered EA investors after its latest earnings report showed weak sales from “Battlefield”, a more traditional EA offering.

Fortnite’s popularity – it has taken middle schools by storm and has an estimated 200 million players worldwide – had shaken an industry built on selling individual game titles for $50 or more a pop. While the game is free to download and play, users pay for upgrades, like the “skins” displayed on characters. Joost van Dreunen, co-founder of SuperData, a Nielsen Company, estimates that in 2018 “Fortnite” raked in $2.4 billion in revenue, more than any other single title.

Upgrades

Spencer Guy, an 18-year-old high school student in Montgomery, Alabama, said he has spent about $200 on upgrades while playing “Fortnite”. He said he loves the fast pace of “Apex Legends” and that it is not plagued by bugs the way “Fortnite” was. But so far, he said, he has spent “not a penny” on “Apex Legends”.

Analysts question whether “Apex Legends” can dislodge “Fortnite”, which is developed by Epic Games.

“’Fortnite’ skews much younger and much more female because it’s cartoony and the violence isn’t violent. When you kill a character it says you’re out, it doesn’t say you’re dead,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

Pachter also wonders if users will pay as much for upgrades like skins in a first-person shooter game where only the character’s hands and gun is

in view.

“Dead by Daylight” will release on Nintendo Switch later this Fall, developer Behaviour Interactive and Koch Media has announced.

The classic multiplayer survival horror game will feature new content, including killers, survivors, maps, chapters and cosmetics.

“Bringing ‘Dead by Daylight’ to the Nintendo Switch is yet another milestone in the game’s history and a personal dream of mine. Very soon, players will be able to bring their game along and continue serving the Entity on the bus, at work or at home. We are thrilled to be teaming up with Koch Media for the first time. I believe this is the beginning of a very fruitful partnership.” said Stephen Mulrooney, Senior Vice-President of Behaviour Interactive.

“With ‘Dead by Daylight’ on Nintendo Switch we’re proud to team up with one of the largest development teams worldwide and our successful new distribution partners at Behaviour Interactive”, said Mario Gerhold, International Marketing Director Games at Koch Media. “This game is absolutely outstanding and we’re happy to give players on Nintendo Switch the chance to enjoy the most grown up digital hide and seek game of all time wherever they are.”

“Hollow Knight” indie developer Team Cherry has announced that a sequel is coming for the popular game via an announcement trailer.

“Hollow Knight: Silksong” will follow Hornet. Originally, this game started as DLC for “Hollow Knight”, but Team Cherry, an Australian team of three developers, realized it had a full game on its hands.

“Almost from the very start, Hornet’s adventure was intended to take place in a new land,” Team Cherry stated on its website. “But as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned. We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you’ll get to explore is worth it.”

“Hollow Knight: Silksong” is launching on Nintendo Switch, or you can play it on your computer – Windows, Mac, or Linux. More platforms could be a possibility, though these are the only platforms Team Cherry is committing to at this time.

“Hollow Knight” was a Kickstarter-funded game that went on to wild success. Over 2.8 million people bought and played the first game, according to Team Cherry. As a show of appreciation, Team Cherry is giving the 2158 backers of “Hollow Knight” a free copy of “Hollow Knight: Silksong”.

“But we also know that times change, and the Nintendo Switch is quickly becoming a common (and excellent) console to own,” Team Cherry explained. “Because of that, any backer of the game from the $10AUD and above tiers can choose to receive their copy of ‘Hollow Knight: Silksong’ free on either PC or Nintendo Switch, at launch. We’ll shoot out a simple survey as we get closer to release to find out which version you’d like to receive.”