Apex Legends, the video game that will smash Fortnite

Developed by the giant Electronic Arts, this futuristic game has exceeded 25 million players in 10 days. A record. In the community of gamers, the name is on everyone's lips: Apex Legends, a jewel designed by the developers of Respawn studios, already at the origin of masterpieces like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor. The games are based on Battle Royale style codes. Like Fortnite, this game is free and available on all consoles and computers.

Apex Legends was launched without any announcement or promotion, but easily, it became very big. But how to explain such success? Unlike the launch of most blockbusters, with multiple teasers and ad effects, Respawn decided to play the card of ultra carefulness until the launching day. The publisher has however set the package on the day of the Super Bowl final - the US football championship is the most watched TV event in the US. A few hours before the shock, some of the most popular gamers in the world had indeed been invited by the studios to test this new "royal battle". As a result, they have praised this discovery in their online communities, while, Super Bowl was airing, much of America was tied to social networks. It did not take more for a bunch of "gamers" to jump on the title and to shade Fortnite.

All these factors have allowed Apex Legends to successfully launch. The game had crossed the bar of 1 million registered players in just 8 hours. And just over 24 hours after it was released, there were already 2.5 million subscribers, according to Respawn CEO Vince Zampella. The excitement for Apex Legends went beyond anything the company imagined

A strategy assumed by the producer of Apex Legends: "Instead of trying to convince a skeptical audience for months with trailers, we chose to let the game speak for itself". It was quite obvious that Apex Legends goal was not to hunt on Fortnite's property. The two games are very different, do not necessarily address the same audience. Apex Legends has the solidity of EA, the expertise of Respawn and above all, its success does not seem so much to be explained by its novelty rather by its qualities and the refreshing characters it brings to the Battle Royale in general and to players in particular.

 What makes Apex Legends special is that the characters have a small cartoon style closer to Fortnite. The gameplay is very similar to that of Titanfall since slips and jumps are at the heart of the game. But Respawn added some new mechanics that made the game interesting. Thus, during the dropping phase, a jumping captain is randomly designated by the game. This one decides to which point of the card the players will go. Another addition is the more adventurous players can choose to go to the danger zone marked on the map. There, they will be more likely to find the legendary loot ... but certainly more enemies to face.

The challenge today for Respawn Studios is to maintain the enthusiasm of the players after the discovery effect and to develop more feautures that will make the game even stronger.