Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Superdata: Apex Legends digital revenue down 74% in two months

EA's battle royale shooter Apex Legends is experiencing a steep decline from the highs of its launch, according to the …

www.gamesindustry.biz

Apex Legends earned $24 million in April, Superdata said, which is "down significantly" for the second consecutive month. In February, the company put Apex Legends' digital revenue at $92 million, meaning that it has declined 74% in the space of two months.

Despite its incredible start, which Superdata claimed was the best ever for a free-to-play title, Respawn Entertainment's game is no longer even in the top ten for either console or PC.

 

[TeamGhobad]

yep and they only have themselves to blame for it. nerfing the spitfire and wingman again was the last straw for me.

 

[zeroFiveNine]

It's clear they didn't really have a robust content plan for this game. The updates have been few and far between.

 

[Boss Mog]

Lack of content updates is the big problem here and the fact that Respawn have been adamant that they have no intention to ramp up new content introduction is going to be the game's downfall. A shame because the gameplay is quite good.

 

[zwiggelbig]

They also have the worst microtransactions with their stupid lootboxes and only a few skins u can buy directly. Unlike fortnight. Im glad they aint making money. Dont deserve it that way

 

[DrumNBassDanTTV]

The micro-transactions in the game are some of the worst ever implemented into a game, and when your lvl cap how often do we get an apex pack? its a joke... i know the game is free to play but the apex packs should drop after each level.

 

[ookami]

Lack of content updates is the big problem here and the fact that Respawn have been adamant that they have no intention to ramp up new content introduction is going to be the game's downfall. A shame because the gameplay is quite good.

I agree with you that the lack of content is one of the main problems. However, I don't think it is because they have no intention to ramp up new content, It seems to me that they don't have enough people in the team handling the game and they don't want to go on crunch practices. They put so many jobs openings that, I think, clearly shows that they need to grow their team.

 

[GlamFM]

yep and they only have themselves to blame for it. nerfing the spitfire and wingman again was the last straw for me.

Don´t think this has anything to do with it tbh.

And I´m also not entirely convinced they see the drop in revenue as a gigantic problem.

It might be by design.

They are deliberately not taking the Fortnite approach and want to focus on seasons instead - which means they are cool with content draughts.

So they are probably also cool with revenue spikes every couple of months when the new season hits instead of a constant flow which is bought by severe crunch.

 

[TeamGhobad]

Don´t think this has anything to do with it tbh.

And I´m also not entirely convinced they see the drop in revenue as a gigantic problem.

It might be by design.

They are deliberately not taking the Fortnite approach and want to focus on seasons instead - which means they are cool with content draughts.

So they are probably also cool with revenue spikes every couple of months when the new season hits instead of a constant flow which is bought by severe crunsh.

i know im just venting. but the game is repetitive and thats the main reason.

 

[GlamFM]

i know im just venting. but the game is repetitive and thats the main reason.

I´d say the main reason is that people have bought the Season pass when it came out and have not bought anything since - hence the drop in revenue.

Apex´s skin-game is kinda weak so far. I pop into the store every now and then, but so far I have not seen anything I´d put real money down for - and I´m generally not opposed to the idea.

But I´m also right there with you in that I miss a "reason" to play since I finished the Season Pass.

Can´t wait for Season 2 and hopefully a new game mode.

Still crazy in love with Apex tho.

 

[Grinchy]

I have to imagine that even if it completely peters out in the next 6 months, it's still a very profitable game nonetheless. I understand that the dream is to go full Fortnite and bring in truckloads of cash every month, but even if this "fails" in comparison, it's probably still bringing in more profit than any other game they've made. I can't imagine the Titanfall games were big financial hits.

 

[Tesseract]

eh, we'll see what happens after s04 or so, it's too early in the game to call it dead

the problem is there's no way to earn extra apex packs or blue crafting currency without paying, and the legendary drop rate is too low

more content is coming tho

 

[Woo-Fu]

Just the nature of the content model they've chosen. Presumably they are OK with it because it should have been obvious this would be the result. They'll get a large bump every time a new Season hits.

 

[LucidFeuer]

Superdata: fake news. They have no credibility.

 

[Clear]

Oh noes, they only ,made $24m in a month... how will they keep the lights on!

 

[Spukc]

Doooooooooooooomed

 

[48086]

Hey guys, Tristin from marketing here! Just finishing up my latte, but wanted to let you know things are right on track! Don't believe the fake news, our revenue is great Also, you're going to totally love this! We're adding in additional lore for the characters. Stay glued to Twitter and you can find out about Caustic's background as a radical Nazi, the Bangalore/Lifeline love affair and, (my personal fav) the transitioning process for Mirage. Obvs she is going to be beautiful!

- Tristin out

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Also the season pass rewards suck. Like, all the same ugly skins for different guns. It wreaks of laziness.

 

[Mista]

Yes and it’s understandable. The game will still decline and then bounce back with every season. The consequence of seasonal updates

 

[Gamernyc78]

It's going to decline regardless of their model, the season passes suck, that's the bottom line.

 

[Elcid]

Surprise surprise. Playing this for a few minutes, I could have never possibly guessed this game would be dead in a few months.

 

[waylo]

EA really blows my mind. They desperately try and chase the "Games as a Service" shit, then they have one right here in the palm of their hand, and they squander it. I'm sure part of it is on Respawn and the fact that most of the team are likely working on a dumb Star Wars game, but man. Just think if the cosmetics didn't suck and they didn't try and gauge you for $18 on each one?

Make some nice looking skins and charge $10 a piece? Guaranteed I would've spent $30-$40 already. In it's current form, I don't know a single person who has actually spent a dime in their garbage store. My friends and I are pretty liberal when it comes to spending money in games, and we've all purchased nothing but the battle pass. Nobody has spent a dime on cases or specific skins because 1. the majority of the skins are trash and 2. even if we did want one in particular, NOTHING in this game is worth $18.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I like Apex, i think it's a good game. It is broken on two fundamental levels that keep pushing me away from it:

1) playing solo and always being paired with shit, uncooperative 'lone wolf' players who cost you any chance at the game because they think they know right.

2) The netcode and hit-reg is shocking for a game in 2019. It suffers from issues that MW2 had, which were solved many many many years ago.

They need to fix the solo play first and foremost. Smarter matchmaking would be much preferred.

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

I'm surprised it had any revenue at all, given how terrible the monetization is. I guess I'm glad that shitty loot boxes + $20 shitty skins + shitty battle pass isn't working out for them, because it's not too late to right the ship. The problem is they built the monetization around having a billion worthless things. Icons and background colors for your character card, skins that are basic recolors, etc. They did this to give the shitty loot boxes something to give people so that they didn't have to actually give you anything you might want, and the result is a dilution of the value of unlocking things in the game. Not only do you no longer care what the game gives you, in some cases, you are actively upset at it. Like, who is going to give a game money for something that is more likely to piss them off than make them happy?

 

[Riven326]

And people do get bored and move onto other things. It happens.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Everyone keeps shitting on this game now the honeymoon season is over. Respawn are aware of the problems, the loot box system isn't going away but the season pass will get better and be worth the money.

 

[DonF]

Their own damn fault. I've played apex like a mad man since it was launched, I got the Battle pass cause hell I've played the game a lot, but their monetization model is ass.
Overpriced skins, almost non existent way to get skins with merit, 3 different coins, the one to craft extremely rare and impossible to earn once you get max level, the other is a joke, you get 600 every level, but its only for new legends, that cost 12000, and there are only 3 legends to buy, so when you are level 100 you have that coin to spare and the bought coin.

I would considering dropping my leftovers, like 4 bucks tops. But when there is nothing worth getting, and the skins are fucking $20 ohh hell no.

I think that they should drop the prices to the impulse buy range, $1 - $5

 

[recklesscognition]

I bought the season pass because I was finding myself playing the game all the time. I didn't like anything that came with the pass except that I earned enough credits to purchase season 2 for free. Otherwise I'd have been pissed.

 

[VertigoOA]

They don’t have the infrastructure to support it while working on other projects.

It would need to need an offshoot support studio of some sort.

And if EA wants to keep the dollars rolling I can see that happening.

They were able to tap into the BR market successfully but are failing to maintain the necessary content stream needed to compete with trashnite... and black ops.

Yes, black ops is outperforming apex on consoles... and that one costs money

Most played games - Microsoft Store

 

[Ten_Fold]

Lack of updates made me stop playing this game, I think it’s the best BR game but the game needs some love.

 

[Revas]

This game will be fine,EA will see that it's updated.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

Lack of constent updates, poor hit detection and the world's crappy store and loot boxes... It's a reason why its falling behind now. I like the game and don't want it to fail but Respawn and EA need to get their shit together or Apex will plummet to the very bottom.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

To be honest, I'm really happy to see this poor man's Overwatch fail spectacularly after the overhype that it received. Some of the worst hero/character designs I've ever seen since Paladins.

 

[Bkdk]

Superdata: Apex Legends digital revenue down 74% in two months

EA's battle royale shooter Apex Legends is experiencing a steep decline from the highs of its launch, according to the …

www.gamesindustry.biz

Apex Legends earned $24 million in April, Superdata said, which is "down significantly" for the second consecutive month. In February, the company put Apex Legends' digital revenue at $92 million, meaning that it has declined 74% in the space of two months.

Despite its incredible start, which Superdata claimed was the best ever for a free-to-play title, Respawn Entertainment's game is no longer even in the top ten for either console or PC.

Good enough to keep respawn’s small team afloat since their owners already earn enough and don’t have enough motivation to earn more, but I’m sure EA management expect way higher profits and will start to influence the development more significantly.

 

[Tesseract]

To be honest, I'm really happy to see this poor man's Overwatch fail spectacularly after the overhype that it received. Some of the worst hero/character designs I've ever seen since Paladins.

such an ignorant statement, this is absolutely nothing like overwatch

by that measure, overwatch is a poor man's league of legends

which is what, a poor man's dota?

derp

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

such an ignorant statement, this is absolutely nothing like overwatch

by that measure, overwatch is a poor man's league of legends

which is what, a poor man's dota?

derp

I would say it's a Rich Man's Team Fortress 2.

 

[LuvOfThaGame]

The core of the game is outstanding. Their problem is the map is small and gets repetitive very quickly. The longer you play, the smaller the map seems. Hit detection is really sketchy. Over half the skin content is ridiculously mediocre. The season pass has mostly poor rewards. Most of this is easily rectified. Hoping with time they can do better.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Lack of updates made me stop playing this game, I think it’s the best BR game but the game needs some love.

They've come out and said that they're not going to subject their employees to the 100 hour weeks that the people at Fortnight apparently are subjected to.

So here's the question: Will you return? Or is it that you now expect as frequent updates as Fortnight does?

 

[Halo is Back]

Good we don’t need anymore BR games

 

[kraspkibble]

To be honest, I'm really happy to see this poor man's Overwatch fail spectacularly after the overhype that it received. Some of the worst hero/character designs I've ever seen since Paladins.

this game is NOTHING like Overwatch. what u smoking dude

 

[Tesseract]

I would say it's a Rich Man's Team Fortress 2.

it's nothing like team fortress 2, goddamn dude

 

[Halo is Back]

I would say it's a Rich Man's Team Fortress 2.

Rich man but it’s free

 

[Ribi]

everyone who played it on my freinds list no longer plays it

 

[VAL0R]

To be honest, I'm really happy to see this poor man's Overwatch fail spectacularly after the overhype that it received. Some of the worst hero/character designs I've ever seen since Paladins.

Characters are trash tier. I hope it dies so they focus on Titanfall 3.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

People blame the game changes, but it is clearly the lack of ongoing interest by streamers. The game lived and died on twitch.

 

[Tesseract]

Characters are trash tier. I hope it dies so they focus on Titanfall 3.

titanfall is on hiatus so they can work on apex

as for the characters, why are they trash tier?

 

[haxan7]

I was playing it heavily until Sekiro came out, pretty much. Then almost completely stopped, so not surprised by this.

But the season pass was butt, so they need to step their game up in that department to make the game cool and fresh again. The actual gameplay/gunplay itself is superb and I feel they just need to do more with it.

They also probably weren't expecting it to be such a big hit at the start, so they got caught off-guard. I would expect some good content in the next couple months.

 

[Mista]

everyone who played it on my freinds list no longer plays it

Normal. The seasonal update decision doesn’t suit everyone

 

[Wings 嫩翼翻せ]

Basura reward system IMO... why should I log on and play with bunch of low-skilled Caustic/Gibraltars and scared bitch teammates if I'm not gonna even get crafting materials for teh dam skinz

 

[Revas]

Characters are trash tier. I hope it dies so they focus on Titanfall 3.

Trash tier characters in a BR game?


Impressive even for GAF.

At least we both look forward to TF3.