EA Confirms Apex Legends Mobile in Development
During EA’s Q3 earnings call, Respawn’s flagship battle royale, Apex Legends is confirmed to have an upcoming mobile release. We’ve been hearing whisper since the start of Season 2, that a mobile version might be on the way.
Respawn made it abundantly clear that there was no release date planned anywhere for Apex Legends Mobile though. But during their Q3 report, we hear that an Apex Legends portable title is currently in the works with a Chinese partner. Daniel Ahmad, an industry insider and analyst, first reported this.
What We Know About Apex Legends Mobile
Now that a publishing partner has been picked out, it’s full speed ahead on Apex Legends mobile! Now, I’ll grant, the esports scene for Apex Legends hasn’t been so great, I think mobile is just what it needs. Mobile esports is stronger than you’d think, after all.
“Rolling mobile out in China, you need to have a partner, and we’re, as we’ve said in the prepared remarks today, working with a partner there. We’re very excited about the opportunity.” – Blake Jorgensen, EA chief financial officer
That’s about as solid a confirmation as you can get. Though we do not know the developer in question, smart money is likely on Tencent. Tencent worked with Activision on Call of Duty Mobile, and CoD Mobile is amazing. Not to mention, Tencent has its hands in just about every video game pie globally.
Tencent owns Riot Games and helms another one of the biggest mobile titles in the world, Arena of Valor. They have a mobile pedigree that you just can’t beat. The other option is likely NetEase, who is nearly as powerful as Tencent, especially in China.
It doesn’t seem like it’s coming to the Nintendo Switch anytime soon. The publishers, according to Ahmed, reveal they were “pleased” with how the Switch is performing. Though they want to release more titles on the Switch, it won’t be happening “any time soon.” So, I wouldn’t hold your breath on Apex Legends on the Switch.
Season 4, entitled Assimilation, comes out on February 4. The new robot Revenant is coming as well as a new sentinel sniper rifle. Of course, a battle pass will also come with this update and plenty of changes. But we are excited to see what’s coming in the news for an Apex Legends mobile release. We’re sure it’s going to happen, but it’s a matter of when. I imagine China will get it before us and will be a great test market.
EA did confirm the status of the upcoming mobile game. In this call, they reinforce the claims of a “10-year long franchise” with Apex Legends. Here’s another fun quote, courtesy of Kotaku Australia.
“Apex is an outstanding example of the innovation across our portfolio. Seasons of new content are coming at a regular cadence for the growing global community. Season Three was bigger than Season Two with higher peaks in daily active users. Within those seasons, in-game events are engaging players with content and challenges that show the imagination and creativity that we are continually pouring into the experience. We’re also expanding the Apex universe with more ways to play and watch. We have plans to reach more platforms in FY21, and there’s a lot of excitement in the esports community for the Apex Legends Global Series that is now underway.”
That’s right, Apex Legends is coming to mobile. They’re happy with the growth the game has seen so far. I hope they improve the esports scene and keep up the regular updates. Apex Legends is awesome to watch, as well as play. Let’s see what EA has in the plans for 2020.
Wouldn’t that be a great way to sell phones in the 2020 holiday season? Partner with a big-time phone developer like Samsung or Apple for an early exclusive, and drop it to one of them. Just some food for thought. I wouldn’t expect it to come before June though. I’m betting on later in the year, or after Global Series. That would make a smart Worlds announcement.
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