Electronic Arts‘ battle royale title “Apex Legends” is not a serious contender for Epic Games’ blockbuster “Fortnite” and it’s worth far less than its implied stock value, according to financial website Seeking Alpha.
Interest in the game is fading, the website said, and since it makes up a substantial portion of EA‘s stock valuation, the publisher is facing a substantial decline.
“Apex Legends” is developed by “Titanfall” developer Respawn Entertainment. It launched on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on Feb. 4 and managed to reach 50 million players in less than 30 days. It took “Fortnite” 100 days to reach 45 million, for comparison. But Seeking Alpha notes that much of “Apex Legends'” early traffic wasn’t organic. EA spent millions on popular streamers like Ninja, who played and promoted the game on his Twitch channel. Once the streamers quit playing, however, interest in “Apex Legends” dropped quickly.
Earlier this month, StreamElements reported the number of hours people spent watching “Apex Legends” fell from over 40 million in February to just over 10 million in March. Twitch viewership and Google searches are down substantially as well, according to Seeking Alpha. Streamers like Ninja and Dr. Disrespect have returned to other titles like “Fortnite,” with the latter comparing “Apex Legends” to Daybreak’s failing battle royale game “H1Z1.”
Popular on Variety
“Honestly, we believe the criticisms of these influencers should be taken very seriously,” Seeking Alpha said. “They not only have the power to generate interest and maintain interest for a game, but they also are veteran gamers, and have seen many games both live and die. They know the market far, far better than most investors.”
Currently, Seeking Alpha believes “Apex Legends” is worth around $1.8 to $2.4 billion, which is way lower than the $7.4 billion plus valuation the market gave it right after launch.
