Wednesday, April 24th 2019
Waning Popularity: After Peaking, Apex Legends Already Lost 75% of Its Streaming Audience
Apex Legends was somewhat of a sleeper hit, and it was so in many ways. A ninja introduction by EA of the Respawn Entertainment-developed game back in January saw significant interest from the gaming community, who recognized in Respawn the ability to make a great FPS. Taking advantage of the Battle Royale popularity was also a solid move, as was EA's decision to focus marketing efforts not on a long, drawn-out publicity campaign, but instead, on paying renowned Twitch streamers to play and stream their game.
Since gaming (at least when it comes to multiplayer gaming) nowadays has somewhat of a "monkey see, monkey do" dynamic for the general gaming population, this move prompted Apex Legends to the top of the streaming food chain, with a grand total of 40 million hours streamed on its first week alone. Also during its first week, the game achieved a staggering 25 million unique players, doubling that number to 50 million in the first month. However, the cash flow must die out, and as EA stopped paying streamers, so did they move on to other, more proficuous games, such as Fortnite, which has endured the Apex Legends assault in terms of viewers and players. It remains to be seen if EA will double down on the streamer investment it did on the games' launch, or if Respawn Entertainment can churn out meaningful updates and characters that can turn the tide.
Sources:
VGR, via TechSpot
Since gaming (at least when it comes to multiplayer gaming) nowadays has somewhat of a "monkey see, monkey do" dynamic for the general gaming population, this move prompted Apex Legends to the top of the streaming food chain, with a grand total of 40 million hours streamed on its first week alone. Also during its first week, the game achieved a staggering 25 million unique players, doubling that number to 50 million in the first month. However, the cash flow must die out, and as EA stopped paying streamers, so did they move on to other, more proficuous games, such as Fortnite, which has endured the Apex Legends assault in terms of viewers and players. It remains to be seen if EA will double down on the streamer investment it did on the games' launch, or if Respawn Entertainment can churn out meaningful updates and characters that can turn the tide.
30 Comments on Waning Popularity: After Peaking, Apex Legends Already Lost 75% of Its Streaming Audience
- lack of new content
- slow updates
- worst netcode of the last 14 years (according to battlenonsense analysis, 140ms fire delay + 24hz tickrate)
- broken hitboxes, still no fix (pathfinder)
- rampant hacking
- poor performance (even at 720p low my gtx 1080ti struggles to lock it at 138fps in some areas - Gsync/freesync usage)
EA stocks were going trough a nightmare, apex came and saved them, but EA could still manage to ruin the potential that was on this game. They investimg on the upcoming star wars (made by respawn) and no investment on apex. They thought they could get away with it. EA ...
Thats what happens when you release a game without much substance and hire some big names to bang the drum.... Once the money for PR runs out and everyone goes back to their regular day jobs, nobody really cares about the game anymore because it didnt have any redeeming features in the first place.
At least the game is still free though, so there is no real barrier to entry other than downloading and running EA Origin. Im sure people will return to the game once more content for it is released.
On a more positive note Titanfall 2 has received a much welcome boost because of Apex Legends. If people arent playing Apex, then it will be Titanfall.
However I agree with you and in my opinion these big streamers are destroying videogames industry.
Titanfall 2 is great, but the game has bad hacking problem aswell.
The game is full of idiots.
Idiots aren't a challenge and the game isn't going to draw in worthy opponents because it sucks.
It has too many problems.
Blah blah blah.
Don't get me started on these Twitch TV players that look like they are the best players ever but in reality are being given unfair advantage because of Twitch TV..
People for fucks sakes quit watching people play and play yourself!
- they seem to be patching fairly often
- the netcode definitely needs to get better, but the only way to call it "worse of the last 14 years" is if you haven't played anything in the last 14 years
- that was already fixed, seem you haven't played the game recently
- hacking in Apex is on the decline actually, though like any online game, fools who do it still exist
- I'm getting stable 70+ fps @ 1440p maxed, except AA - so check your configuration
Distant player drops dead.
That's what happens with basically all games that suddenly that gets picked up by streamers.
1) I can't prove it but it would seem as some well known and popular Twitch players seem to always be on the "good side of LAG" especially when a game first launches.
2) Pro Players manipulate the balance by playing under new accounts that match them with beginners. They make ridiculous claims that by playing under their real name just makes them a target to be sniped constantly so they switch up....In reality what the rest of us regular players do is school the motherfucker putting us to the test instead of crying like a lil loser bitch and then making ourselves feel better by going taking candy from a baby.
1. I've seen plenty of Twitch and YT streamers (mostly Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends) on the 'bad' side of lag. I mean how in the world would you be able to selectively pick out users and specify them for a lower ping while others are higher???? Seriously... what networking magic can do this for them while still allowing the public to join?
2. Many of the major streamers I have seen (again same titles) stick with the same ID. Sure, some have multiple ID's and stream sniping can be a major issue for these people, but for the most part, the 10 or so streamers my sons and I watch, are typically using the same handle (Ninja, HighDistortion, Dakotaz, Chocotaco, NICKMERCS, Danucd, Dr Lupo, DrDisrespect, Timthetatman, TFue, NickEh30, Lachy, Shroud, Ali A)... they all play the vast majority of their time under their main name.
Have you ever watched a stream on some of these major players and seen just how many stream snipe? I typically have chocotaco on (PUBG) and it is nearly constant. He gets around 3-8K viewers... can you imagine what TFue, or Ninja, or DrDisR has to deal with having 2-4x more viewers? It is a problem for them... either they just run up and say high and get killed or try hard to kill the streamer for their own fame.
I'm sorry I don't see your POINT OF VIEW on any of the big name players and I outright call bullshit on them not getting advantage during launch...Sorry it happens...Call it promo or whatever.
Try sitting in the #1 spot in any lobby for any amount of time and try and tell me you don't start getting snipped nonstop...You learn to outsmart them and move on..It is part of the game.