Apex Legends & Respawn May Have Helped EA Turn a Tough Corner
By TJ Denzer ·
There's been a lot of good things to come out of Apex Legends for players and the creators, but did the game help turn the tide for Electronic Arts? The stock market says yes.
With how much just about everyone has been singing the praises of the new hotness that is Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends, you’d almost forget that it also comes out of regular gaming corporate punching bag EA. By all accounts, the game is quite fun and an exciting twist on battle royale, but has its vast success helped EA flip its fortunes around and get back on track? It looks that way.
On February 7, 2019, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella reported that Apex Legends had achieved over 10 million players worldwide, with over 1 million concurrent players marked at its peak. More than admirable, the game has even out-trafficked the likes of Fortnite and League of Legends for several days on Twitch views. Even if Apex Legends could be rationalized to be a flash in the pain, its initial impact is still like very little else out there, which may explain why EA’s stock shares just took a nice, big increase, as shown by Twitter user Benji-Sales.
EA is now trading for almost $96
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) February 8, 2019
Why is this important?
Apex Legends has single handedly brought back the entire loss from EA's quarterly reporting and is trading higher now than the pre drop.
Congrats to everyone who bought in when the stock tanked, Respawn is saving EA pic.twitter.com/fRi1yIOqlr
At the time of Benji-Sales’ tweet, EA had taken a skyrocket on NASDAQ from a little over $82 per share to almost $96. And surprise, surprise, that jump coincides completely with the launch of Apex Legends. All things considered, EA was already a place to watch with the impending launch of Bioware’s Anthem on February 22, 2019, but Respawn Entertainment just stepped on plate as a pinch hitter and nailed a homerun out of nowhere for EA with Apex Legends.
Can Apex Legends keep up the pace it set in its flashy entrance to the scene? Will Anthem be another success for EA this year? Those things remain to be seen, but one thing seems certain. Apex Legends and Respawn Entertainment may have just given EA the win it needs to have some breathing room for the immediate future.
Are you playing Apex Legends? Do you want to know more about the characters and what they can do? Check out our Apex Legends character and abilities guide, and then learn how to revive yourself when your allies can’t.
[Featured Image by Respawn Entertainment]