EA has always wanted to bring Apex Legends to mobile. In their latest earnings call, EA confirmed that they’ve found a Chinese partner who will not only be developing the mobile version of the game, but a Chinese-only version of Apex for PC as well.
EA confirmed the status of Apex‘s mobile port in the opening of their latest earnings call, reinforcing earlier claims that they’re viewing Apex Legends as a “10-year long franchise”. The third season has been a success for Apex‘s player base, with “higher peaks in daily active users”:
Apex is an outstanding example of the innovation across our portfolio. Seasons of new content are coming at a regular cadence for the growing global community. Season Three was bigger than Season Two with higher peaks in daily active users. Within those seasons, in-game events are engaging players with content and challenges that show the imagination and creativity that we are continually pouring into the experience. We’re also expanding the Apex universe with more ways to play and watch. We have plans to reach more platforms in FY21, and there’s a lot of excitement in the esports community for the Apex Legends Global Series that is now underway.
EA’s financial year runs from July to June, so the code here is that Apex Legends Mobile will launch sometime between July 2020 and June 2021. EA has traditionally launched tentpole live service games between October and November — except for FIFA, which always launches mid-to-late September — but there’s also a window around Apex‘s second anniversary in February 2021, but naturally the release will be dependent on how development goes.
In follow-up questions about the profitability of Apex Legends compared to other games EA’s business, as well as the future for Apex generally, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said the same partner that was “helping develop a mobile Apex for the globe” would be helping EA launch Apex Legends in Asia (read: China).
Andrew Wilson, EA’s CEO, added that EA believed Apex had the same core tenets featured in games like Counter-Strike, Dota 2 or League of Legends, and that Respawn as a studio has gotten better at updating the game over time and servicing the playerbase.
“As we look at the industry and the games that have lasted a decade or more … there’s really kind of three core pillars of those games: really compelling and identifiable characters, a truly compelling world, and competitive skill-based, highly social gameplay that continues to evolve and emerge over time as players continue to get better in the game,” Wilson said.
“They are the three core tentpoles of Apex Legends as a game, and as we think about the year, the next year and the year after and we add new geographies and new platforms, again as with Blake said, it’s hard to predict exactly how that will grow. But our belief is that we have growth ahead, and we’re very, very encouraged and excited by the fact that the team gets better and better at answering the needs of the players.”
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