How Apex Legends Could Replace Fortnite
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VOICE OVER: Adrian Sousa
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
Apex Legends is getting really big really fast, but Fortnite already has an even more massive player base and has infiltrated pop culture. Is it possible for Apex Legends to over take Fortnite? We think there is a real possibility, here is why!
Can Apex Legends Destroy Fortnite?!?
Well, … we seem to find ourselves at a very interesting crossroads. In an already overcrowded market, Respawn Entertainment has managed to break through the mold with its own battle-royale game, “Apex Legends”. While we did have some issues with the game supposedly being set in the “Titanfall” universe, “Apex Legends” has quickly become a fierce new contender against the likes of PUBG, “Call of Duty: Blackout”, and most notably, “Fortnite”. An outsider can easily dismiss its early success as just a fad that will die soon, but that’s what many said about “Fortnite”. In the case of “Apex Legends”, all signs are pointing in a different, brighter direction. So we need to ask the question: Can Apex Legends Destroy Fortnite?
Roll your eyes at the title as much as you want, “Apex Legends” is a surprisingly solid game due to its innovative mechanics and features. Respawn has come out and shaken up the formula with its respawn system, hero-type characters, and fantastic traversal. There’s nothing on the market quite like it. As a bonus, it’s one of the few games that is almost completely honest about its lootboxes; the percentage chance of getting certain types of items is shown, you’re told what you can expect from opening one, and, most importantly, there’s no duplicates. Once you get an item, it never appears in an Apex pack for your account. Finally! an online shooter with a real sense of progression! For more on our thoughts, be sure to check out Andrew’s review.
First we need to decide: what does “Apex Legends” mean for the battle royale genre? Well, not only did “Apex Legends” make the battle royale market a little more crowded, but it did so while raising the bar and letting its fists fly. During the reveal stream, Respawn displayed a sheer amount of confidence in its game, enough to where it may have made some indirect sucker-punches at every other battle-royale game. In regards to the small character roster, Respawn explained that it wanted characters that were unique in personality and playstyle instead of “generic soldiers”, a trait common in the battle royale genre. You could also say the respawn system is a giant middle finger to the battle royale formula. As many of us have experienced, there isn’t much reason to stick around in a game of “Fortnite” or PUBG once you’ve died. “Apex Legends”, on the other hand, gives us more than enough reason to stick around thanks to its unique respawn system. So, just because you died right at the start of a match doesn’t mean you have to cut your losses and join a new one. There is still hope, and our hope is that other battle royale games quickly adopt this system or create something similar.
Now, what does “Apex Legends” mean for our big tyrant “Fortnite”? Initially, we were thinking “Apex Legends” wouldn’t be anything more another game claiming its slice of the battle royale pie. On the contrary, Respawn may potentially give Epic Games a run for its money. The differences between “Apex Legends” and “Fortnite” are drastic enough to where the latter may see a substantial dip in numbers in the coming months. Whereas “Fortnite” is slower in pace and appeals more to casual players, “Apex Legends” will most likely attract hardcore shooter fans with its energetic speed and exhilarating movement. (No, there’s no wall running, but hey, sliding while shooting is still awesome!) The other big difference is that “Apex Legends” is focused on teamwork, and pinging allows mic-less players to easily communicate THANK YOU RESPAWN, I hate dealing with racist homophobic 10 year old edgelords. Plus, there’s something exceptionally satisfying about landing as a team rather than independently. The problem with “Fortnite” is that you may end up with a random stranger on your squad, who may end up going lone wolf and getting themselves killed. So, you’ll be down one man.
Despite being out for less than a week, “Apex Legends” is already seeing impressive success. In its first eight hours, the game reached one million players with its highest peak at six hundred thousand concurrent player! In twenty-four hours, the player base grew to 2.5 million! People have reason to stay, too, as Respawn already has the rest of 2019 planned out for content. Its first season will begin in March 2019 with future seasons scheduled for June, September, and December. These seasons will introduce new items, weapons, maps, and playable characters. The best part about “Apex Legends”? In an interview with Game Informer, Respawn executive producer Drew McCoy stated that EA “had no hand in development or anything about this game.” In other words, “Apex Legends” is a game straight from the devs, and so far, they’ve shown that this game comes with no strings attached...so far.
For as much praise as we can give “Apex Legends”, it does have a few obstacles to face; The most glaring one is that it’s under the “Titanfall” brand. While this isn’t supposed to be a “Titanfall” game, it may be hard for some fans to ignore that it is set within the “Titanfall” universe. To some, that’s enough to classify it as a “Titanfall” game even when the gameplay says different. As Andrew pointed out in his review, there are no Titans and there is no wallrunning. This may be enough to alienate some fans. Although, it’s important to understand that when a developer like Respawn says, “We tried to implement Titans and wallrunning, and it didn’t work”, it may be best to trust what they’re saying. Besides, “Apex Legends” does not mark the end of the “Titanfall” franchise as we know it. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella has confirmed that there is more “Titanfall” planned for later this year. Whether it’s “Titanfall 3” remains to be seen.
The 2nd major hurdle is the fact that EA is attached to game, a company that has a very shaky history with the gaming general public. While we did state before that EA is keeping their hands off the development, it may not be enough to sway some of the most hardcore of gamers who for some reason or another; have sworn off anything EA related whenever possible. Their reasons are justified don’t get me wrong, but it’s also worth considering boycotting the game would hurt Respawn more than it would EA.
The final hurdle is the massive head start Fortnite has over Apex in terms of content. Fortnite have had 7 seasons of content updates behind them, with their 8th season set to begin in March. Not to mention that Fortnite is also available on more devices such as the Nintendo Switch and Smartphones, and has cross-play support amongst all the platforms it’s available on. 03- Crossplay Respawn told Eurogamer in an interview that cross-play will be coming at a later date, however cross-progression won’t be possible. Something Fortnite does have, which is a big problem at least for the time being.
“Apex Legends” may not be “Fortnite’s” untimely undoing, but it will see a sizeable fanbase of its own, quite possibly made up from its competitors’ player bases. Its polished, its energetic, and it provides a unique experience to set itself apart from the other BR tyrants. However, since PUBG exploded in 2017, the market has gotten exceedingly crowded. “Apex Legends” should be a note to publishers that if you’re going to step in an oversaturated market, you better make sure it’s innovative and plays damn well! Yeah, it sucks that it’s supposedly a “Titanfall” game with nothing “Titanfall” about it, but maybe this will help the success of a future title in the mech shooter franchise. After all, a weak player base is part of how “Titanfall 2” died so quickly. So, maybe “Apex Legends” will turn out to be the saving grace for the series.
Well, … we seem to find ourselves at a very interesting crossroads. In an already overcrowded market, Respawn Entertainment has managed to break through the mold with its own battle-royale game, “Apex Legends”. While we did have some issues with the game supposedly being set in the “Titanfall” universe, “Apex Legends” has quickly become a fierce new contender against the likes of PUBG, “Call of Duty: Blackout”, and most notably, “Fortnite”. An outsider can easily dismiss its early success as just a fad that will die soon, but that’s what many said about “Fortnite”. In the case of “Apex Legends”, all signs are pointing in a different, brighter direction. So we need to ask the question: Can Apex Legends Destroy Fortnite?
Roll your eyes at the title as much as you want, “Apex Legends” is a surprisingly solid game due to its innovative mechanics and features. Respawn has come out and shaken up the formula with its respawn system, hero-type characters, and fantastic traversal. There’s nothing on the market quite like it. As a bonus, it’s one of the few games that is almost completely honest about its lootboxes; the percentage chance of getting certain types of items is shown, you’re told what you can expect from opening one, and, most importantly, there’s no duplicates. Once you get an item, it never appears in an Apex pack for your account. Finally! an online shooter with a real sense of progression! For more on our thoughts, be sure to check out Andrew’s review.
First we need to decide: what does “Apex Legends” mean for the battle royale genre? Well, not only did “Apex Legends” make the battle royale market a little more crowded, but it did so while raising the bar and letting its fists fly. During the reveal stream, Respawn displayed a sheer amount of confidence in its game, enough to where it may have made some indirect sucker-punches at every other battle-royale game. In regards to the small character roster, Respawn explained that it wanted characters that were unique in personality and playstyle instead of “generic soldiers”, a trait common in the battle royale genre. You could also say the respawn system is a giant middle finger to the battle royale formula. As many of us have experienced, there isn’t much reason to stick around in a game of “Fortnite” or PUBG once you’ve died. “Apex Legends”, on the other hand, gives us more than enough reason to stick around thanks to its unique respawn system. So, just because you died right at the start of a match doesn’t mean you have to cut your losses and join a new one. There is still hope, and our hope is that other battle royale games quickly adopt this system or create something similar.
Now, what does “Apex Legends” mean for our big tyrant “Fortnite”? Initially, we were thinking “Apex Legends” wouldn’t be anything more another game claiming its slice of the battle royale pie. On the contrary, Respawn may potentially give Epic Games a run for its money. The differences between “Apex Legends” and “Fortnite” are drastic enough to where the latter may see a substantial dip in numbers in the coming months. Whereas “Fortnite” is slower in pace and appeals more to casual players, “Apex Legends” will most likely attract hardcore shooter fans with its energetic speed and exhilarating movement. (No, there’s no wall running, but hey, sliding while shooting is still awesome!) The other big difference is that “Apex Legends” is focused on teamwork, and pinging allows mic-less players to easily communicate THANK YOU RESPAWN, I hate dealing with racist homophobic 10 year old edgelords. Plus, there’s something exceptionally satisfying about landing as a team rather than independently. The problem with “Fortnite” is that you may end up with a random stranger on your squad, who may end up going lone wolf and getting themselves killed. So, you’ll be down one man.
Despite being out for less than a week, “Apex Legends” is already seeing impressive success. In its first eight hours, the game reached one million players with its highest peak at six hundred thousand concurrent player! In twenty-four hours, the player base grew to 2.5 million! People have reason to stay, too, as Respawn already has the rest of 2019 planned out for content. Its first season will begin in March 2019 with future seasons scheduled for June, September, and December. These seasons will introduce new items, weapons, maps, and playable characters. The best part about “Apex Legends”? In an interview with Game Informer, Respawn executive producer Drew McCoy stated that EA “had no hand in development or anything about this game.” In other words, “Apex Legends” is a game straight from the devs, and so far, they’ve shown that this game comes with no strings attached...so far.
For as much praise as we can give “Apex Legends”, it does have a few obstacles to face; The most glaring one is that it’s under the “Titanfall” brand. While this isn’t supposed to be a “Titanfall” game, it may be hard for some fans to ignore that it is set within the “Titanfall” universe. To some, that’s enough to classify it as a “Titanfall” game even when the gameplay says different. As Andrew pointed out in his review, there are no Titans and there is no wallrunning. This may be enough to alienate some fans. Although, it’s important to understand that when a developer like Respawn says, “We tried to implement Titans and wallrunning, and it didn’t work”, it may be best to trust what they’re saying. Besides, “Apex Legends” does not mark the end of the “Titanfall” franchise as we know it. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella has confirmed that there is more “Titanfall” planned for later this year. Whether it’s “Titanfall 3” remains to be seen.
The 2nd major hurdle is the fact that EA is attached to game, a company that has a very shaky history with the gaming general public. While we did state before that EA is keeping their hands off the development, it may not be enough to sway some of the most hardcore of gamers who for some reason or another; have sworn off anything EA related whenever possible. Their reasons are justified don’t get me wrong, but it’s also worth considering boycotting the game would hurt Respawn more than it would EA.
The final hurdle is the massive head start Fortnite has over Apex in terms of content. Fortnite have had 7 seasons of content updates behind them, with their 8th season set to begin in March. Not to mention that Fortnite is also available on more devices such as the Nintendo Switch and Smartphones, and has cross-play support amongst all the platforms it’s available on. 03- Crossplay Respawn told Eurogamer in an interview that cross-play will be coming at a later date, however cross-progression won’t be possible. Something Fortnite does have, which is a big problem at least for the time being.
“Apex Legends” may not be “Fortnite’s” untimely undoing, but it will see a sizeable fanbase of its own, quite possibly made up from its competitors’ player bases. Its polished, its energetic, and it provides a unique experience to set itself apart from the other BR tyrants. However, since PUBG exploded in 2017, the market has gotten exceedingly crowded. “Apex Legends” should be a note to publishers that if you’re going to step in an oversaturated market, you better make sure it’s innovative and plays damn well! Yeah, it sucks that it’s supposedly a “Titanfall” game with nothing “Titanfall” about it, but maybe this will help the success of a future title in the mech shooter franchise. After all, a weak player base is part of how “Titanfall 2” died so quickly. So, maybe “Apex Legends” will turn out to be the saving grace for the series.
