Something to look forward to: After an explosive launch that attracted over 50 million players in the first month, the excitement surrounding Apex Legends has cooled slightly. But the battle royale game will be back under the spotlight again when, like its Fortnite and PUBG rivals, it launches on mobile.
During Electronic Arts' earnings report, CEO Andrew Wilson said that a mobile version of Apex Legends is being developed. This isn't too surprising, given the incredible success that both Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds have experienced on the platform. In less than a month after it initially launched on iOS, Fortnite reportedly made $15 million through in-app purchases.
While still immensely popular, Apex Legends' Twitch stream views were down 75 percent at the end of last month. Some analysts believed this might affect EA stock, but a solid fourth fiscal quarter that beat expectations, combined with a positive outlook, saw shares rise 6 percent in after-hours trading.
In addition to announcing its mobile plans, Wilson said EA was in advanced negotiations to bring Apex Legends to China. EA will also publish the game itself in South Korea via its Origin service.
While Wilson didn't offer an update on the 50 million players figure, he did say that 30 percent of them are new to EA's games. The company said it would be focused on delivering new content across a "long term service," which includes new Legends.
As for EA's other big recent game, Anthem, the company said its launch was disappointing. Anthem was expected to sell 5 million to 6 million copies, but it's estimated that the actual figure was a couple of million lower than that target.
Wilson never revealed when we might see Apex Legends on mobile, but expect it sooner rather than later.