Fortnite, watch out: Apex Legends tallies 25 million gamers a week after launch

Apex Legends continues to grow.

The brand-new computer game from market giant Electronic Arts has actually been getting attention online as it handles among the world’s most popular video games, Epic’s Fortnite: Battle Royale. Like Fortnite, Apex Legends is totally free to download and is developed as a last-man-standing “battle royale” title. 

And Apex Legends seems growing quick. Last week, the business stated the video game counted 10 million gamers in the very first 72 hours considering that the video game’s launch. Now it’s at 25 million gamers.

“Since we launched Apex Legends last week on Monday we’ve seen the creation of an Apex Legends community that is excited, thriving, and full of great feedback and ideas,” Vince Zampella wrote in a blog post. (Zampella is head of Respawn Entertainment, which made Apex Legends and its predecessor, Titanfall.) “Our goal is to build this game with you, our community, so keep giving us your feedback because we really are listening.”

EA’s success with Apex Legends marks a potential for it to take on Fortnite, which counted 200 million players in December. (Epic didn’t immediately respond to a request for updated figures.) Those millions of players have turned Fortnite into a cultural phenomenon, played by celebrities, musicians and sports stars. 

Player counts aren’t the only signs of Apex Legends’ success. Shortly after the announcement Monday, gamers were playing Apex Legends on the popular streaming game service Twitch at nearly three times the number they were Fortnite, and even more than other popular streaming games like League of Legends. 

“The game is off to a phenomenal start,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note to investors last week. Though EA’s financial results over the last holiday season were disappointing (in part because of Fortnite’s popularity), Pachter expects Apex Legends to contribute $100 million to EA’s revenues in its next fiscal year.