Apex Legends Only Took 3 Days To Reach 10 Million, Fortnite Took 2 Weeks

Apparently, gamers aren't tired of battle royales just yet. The young genre, led by the likes of Epic Games' Fortnite and lone wolf PUBG, is the hottest thing in gaming these days and anyone and everyone is trying cash in on it. Just three days ago, game developer Respawn Entertainment, makers of Titanfall, launched its free-to-play version set within the same universe and within that time frame, it reached a player milestone that Fortnite also did only after two weeks.

Apex Legends is what you'd get if you smashed Fortnite and Overwatch together and cooked them in a Titanfall pot. Instead of Respawn's hulking mechs, however, you get to play with hero-like "Legends", each with their own unique abilities and stories. And you also have to fight in squads rather than trying to take everyone down yourself.

It was a risky gamble for the game developers, whose Titanfall franchise has seen better days. Overshadowed by the battle royale scene, It decided to jump on the bandwagon as well but with a twist of its own. It probably helped that it released the game for free.

The timing couldn't be better for publisher EA Games. The industry giant, in its recent fiscal report, admitted having underperformed, causing its stocks to tank. Whether Apex Legends will be a moneymaker is still an open question, but the positive press definitely pours some salve on the company's wounds.

Of course, reaching 10 million four times as fast as Fortnite is no small an achievement, but Apex Legends' real test will be in the weeks to come. Flash in the pan games are not that uncommon and with an already crowded battle royale market, EA and Respawn will need to prove it can go beyond that milestone.