It's been a significant year for Apex Legends. Respawn's popular battle royale game started 2024 by celebrating its fifth anniversary with an in-game event that provided free rewards and easy access to one of the game's rarest currencies, a move that was well-received by players. Respawn also revamped its battle-pass system, which led to a backlash from players and a drop in Steam review scores. Instead of following the path of other live-service shooters and releasing a sequel, EA has reiterated its commitment to improving the game in its current form.
"Following changes to the battle-pass construct, we did not see the increase in monetization we had anticipated," EA CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned during a recent earnings call. "We will continue to focus on retention and the breadth of content to serve our global community, while working towards more substantial, innovative changes in the future." When asked about the possibility of a sequel, Wilson quickly dismissed the idea.
"Typically, what we have observed in large-scale live service games is that 'version two' rarely surpasses 'version one,'" Wilson explained, possibly referencing some of Overwatch 2's recent challenges. "Our goal is to continue supporting our global player base and deliver them new, innovative content season by season, without making them abandon their progress or investments in the current ecosystem."
Over the past two years, EA and Respawn have been indecisive about plans for a single-player game set in the Apex Legends/Titanfall universe, eventually canceling it (and then uncanceling it). It's understandable that players and investors might anticipate the franchise to follow the footsteps of live-service shooters like Overwatch and Destiny by releasing a sequel. However, Wilson's statement shouldn't be surprising—EA has a 10- to 15-year plan for the game, a fact the publisher has previously mentioned in conference calls and earnings reports.
"Any time we force our global player community to choose between their current investments and future innovations, it's never a favorable position for our community," Wilson said about EA's decision not to rebuild the game from scratch. "Our goal is to continue innovating in the core gameplay experience and create additional engagement opportunities in different play modes beyond the current core mechanic. We believe we can achieve both without separating the experience."
Respawn began a major overhaul of the game in 2023, starting with Season 18, which featured a makeover for one of the game's creepiest characters and new abilities. 2024 brought further significant changes to the game's meta, such as visible enemy health bars and the introduction of the Legend Upgrade system. Although an 'Apex Legends 2' isn't on the horizon, Respawn has already started rejuvenating the game, and Wilson's comments indicate that Apex will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
