EA CEO says Apex Legends 2 is not in its plans despite declining player interest and revenue
EA CEO Andrew Wilson has stated that major changes are planned for Apex Legends following the announcement that both revenue and player engagement have declined but clarified that an entirely new sequel is not currently in the works.
The details:
In the company's latest investor call (via VGC), Wilson was questioned about its live-service titles, specifically the future of Respawn's Apex Legends. The CEO acknowledged that the controversial changes to the battle pass system did not result in the expected improvement in monetization performance, and that "large systematic change" will be necessary to re-engage its audience. "We will continue to focus on retention and breadth of content in service of our global community as we work towards more significant, innovative changes in the future," Wilson said.
Later in the call, Wilson was asked about the advantages of improving on the current version of the battle royale rather than creating a "Apex 2.0" or "a whole studs-up rebuild" of the game. He responded by stating that a game's second version has "almost never been as successful" as the original.
The executive then stated that by continuing to provide more content to its existing player base each season, players are able to maintain their progress. He explained that forcing players to "choose between the investments they've made to date and future innovation creativity" is "never a good place" to be, which is why Respawn is instead opting for larger seasons.
Blizzard's Overwatch is an example that demonstrates Wilson's concerns about creating a "version 2" of a popular title. The publisher decided to discontinue the original Overwatch in favor of Overwatch 2, which promised PvE content and numerous other improvements due to upgrades to its engine. However, its PvE plans were scaled back before being scrapped entirely, and many of its players abandoned the game completely due to various gameplay changes and technical issues.
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