It has only been one week since the simultaneous announcement and release of the new, popular contender in the battle royale space, Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends. It appears that Apex Legends is all the rage right now, consistently topping the Twitch directory and getting plenty of attention from content creators. But beyond just appearances, the game has some hard numbers to back it up. CEO of Respawn, Vince Zampella, reported today that Apex Legends now has more than 25 million players.

In addition to that overall player count, Zampella said that the number of concurrent players crossed 2 million over the weekend. Without a doubt, the fact that Apex Legends is free-to-play and available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One is helping its install base. Of course, that total player count is pointing towards anyone who has downloaded and played the game at least once, but it's worth mentioning that the concurrent player count has topped out around 2 million. Overall, those numbers point towards a strong start for the game.

In comparison, both Fortnite and PUBG have had times where their concurrent players topped 3 million. Plus, Fortnite just topped 10 million concurrent players last week during the live in-game Marshmello concert. However, those numbers were all-time highs for those games, not necessarily consistent concurrent player counts.

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Zampella teased that Respawn has plans to support the game long-term, starting with a tournament on Twitch and special Valentine's Day loot in-game this week, as well as the first season and Battle Pass coming in March. Respawn said that it is hoping to make Apex Legends a game that lasts for at least ten years, and while time will tell how long players stay engaged with the game, Apex Legends has certainly had a strong start since launch.

If Respawn is able to provide regular content updates for the game, there's no reason why Apex Legends won't be able to retain and even expand its current player base.

Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Electronic Arts