Following a surprise release, Respawn Entertainment celebrated 1 million players within the first day of launching its free-to-play Titanfall battle royale. Just three days later, the shooter has ten times that amount, climbing to a staggering 10 million players overall.
“This has been a truly incredible journey,” said Respawn CEO Vince Zampella, thanking fans for their support. “We tested and tweaked. We argued and agreed. We got to a point where we felt some magic. We knew it would be risky to take the franchise in this direction, to go free to play, and do a surprise launch. But we fell in love with Apex Legends and wanted, needed, other people to play it too.”
Part of the game’s success can be attributed to influencers, as Apex Legends continues to top the charts on Twitch and hit the top five in Mixer. Over 304,000 users tuned in to watch streaming goliath Dr. Disrespect play Apex Legends yesterday, and the viewer count refuses to fall below a collective 100,000 across all channels.
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So amazed @PlayApex hit 10 million in 72 hours. #ApexLegends https://t.co/rZmOgNnwhF pic.twitter.com/j68PYHMAfM— Vince Zampella (@VinceZampella) February 7, 2019
Although free-to-play competitor Fortnite: Battle Royale is still the biggest game in the world right now, comparatively it too Epic Games three weeks to boast 10 million players. It isn’t certain whether Respawn will be able to maintain the same trajectory, but it’s an impressive feat in an unprecedented amount of time.
“We hoped you’d love it as much as us, but never in our wildest dreams could we have expected the outpouring of support and positivity we’ve seen,” continues Zampella. “From all of us at Respawn, thank you for giving us and Apex Legends a chance. Thank you for joining us on this journey. This is just the beginning! We have so much more in store for you this year.”
KitGuru Says: Many Titanfall fans feel as though the game is a little stripped back with lesser character customisation, no Titans and its lack of wall running, but overall it seems like a quality battle royale experience worth trying. After all, it is free. Have you given Apex Legends a shot?