In its recent earnings call, EA has provided further insights into the future of the popular hero shooter Apex Legends and what its player base can expect going forward.
Apex Legends 2 Not in EA's Interests as It Focuses Efforts on Player Base Retention
Apex Legends' Top Spot in Hero Shooter Genre Is Important to EA
Apex Legends is set to launch its 23rd season next month in early November. Despite its position as one of the most popular franchises in the gaming world, the hero shooter has experienced a decline in player engagement since its launch in 2019, missing revenue targets. EA plans to address this through "fundamental changes."
During the company's Q2 earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson acknowledged the game's performance, noting a "need for meaningful systematic innovation that fundamentally changes the way the game plays." Although a decline might suggest the need for a sequel like "Apex Legends 2," Wilson indicated that EA is not interested in pursuing this route, given the game's top-tier position.
"We are currently managing the trajectory of the business," Wilson stated. "However, due to the strength of the brand, the size of our global community, and our position in the top tier of free-to-play live service games, we believe we can return the business to growth over time."
Wilson also mentioned that Season 22 fell short of expectations, prompting EA to realize several key areas for improvement. "Following changes to the battle pass construct, we did not see the expected increase in monetization," he said. He then outlined two observations about the free-to-play FPS category:
"First, in the competitive landscape where brand, a strong core player base, and high-quality mechanics are more crucial than ever, Apex has proven to be a compelling franchise for us and an industry stalwart," Wilson noted. "Second, to drive significant growth and re-engagement, large systematic changes are required. We will continue to focus on retention and the breadth of content to serve our global community as we work towards more significant, innovative changes in the future."
Overall, EA seems more interested in continually improving the existing Apex Legends rather than starting anew with an "Apex Legends 2." "In the context of live service driven games at scale, a Version 2 has almost never been as successful as the original," Wilson added.
Apex Legends Slated for Innovative Updates on a Season-by-Season Basis
Wilson emphasized that their current objective is to ensure Apex Legends' global player base continues to receive support and innovative, creative content on a season-by-season basis. He assured players that their time and effort spent on the game would be safeguarded, with planned changes being implemented "in a way that players don’t have to give up the progress they’ve made or the investment they’ve put into the existing ecosystem."
"Any time we force our global player community to choose between their past investments and future innovation, it's not a good position for them," he explained. "Our goal is to continue innovating within the core experience, and you're seeing that from season to season as our seasons grow progressively larger and we change key modalities of play."
EA has already begun efforts to enhance the Apex Legends experience, with Wilson noting that their plans to recover from declining player engagement will involve "different modalities of play beyond what the current core mechanic delivers." He added, "We believe we can achieve these two goals simultaneously without separating the experience, but the team is still working through this."
