The sudden launch of Apex Legends appears to have EA investors concerned at potential competition between the game and the upcoming Battlefield 5 Firestorm battle royale mode. However, the CEO of EA has said that the company isn’t overly concerned. Essentially, he believes that the games are different enough to attract different parts of the gaming community.
Is There Potential Competition Between Battlefield 5 Firestorm and Apex Legends?
Set in the same universe as Titanfall, Apex Legends is EA’s new free-to-play battle royale title. However, the potential similarities between the game and Firestorm, the Battlefield 5 battle royale mode, have some investors concerned. EA recently held their Q3 2019 investors call, and one investor raised the question of potential competition. The decision to prioritise single-player over battle royale was cited by EA during the call as a factor in Battlefield 5 failing to meet its sales expectations. In response to the investor’s query, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that; “While they sit inside the battle royale genre, they are two very different type of experiences,” although he did go on to state that; “On some level, there may also be some crossover.”
“What we have seen is that the community who plays these types of games is hundreds of millions of people strong,” he continues; “given the size of the community, given the different types of gameplay even with the battle royale genre, we believe those two modes will fit very well together in the community.”
Wilson also went on to cite the gameplay differences between Battlefield 5 and Apex Legends; “We think that there is an opportunity to deliver the fast-paced gameplay that is Apex Legends and where that game goes to a big part of the community,” he says; “Also, the strategic play, the vehicle play, the things that are unique to the Battlefield battle royale mode, will offer differentiation of play for a different part of that community.“