Apex Legends overtakes Fortnite in streaming
This week saw the launch of EA’s Apex Legends, a team-based Battle Royale game that has been labelled a Fortnite killer. The big launch of this free-to-play game has certainly made a dent in Fortnite’s popularity. Figures on playtime aren’t available for the public to assess, but if Twitch is anything to go by then Apex has taken a serious chunk out of the time players spend with Fortnite.

© Epic Games | Electronic Arts
Apex Legends has technically had fewer hours streamed than Fortnite. This means fewer streamers are broadcasting the game, indicating that the habits of formulaic streamers die hard. However, it has been watched considerably more. This makes the fewer streamers who are broadcasting Apex Legends achieve a much higher viewer number than those who have stuck with Fortnite. This disparity might change in the coming weeks as more streamers take notice of the increased popularity of Apex and switch to the newer title.
Apex released at just the right window to have the maximum impact on Fortnite. With Fortnite now expanded to every platform available, it is difficult for Epic’s game to recapture that excitement of sudden release that Apex is enjoying. Commentators have been quick to jump to the assumption that Apex might finally displace Fortnite as the top dog in free-to-play Battle Royale. This view probably under-estimates the novelty of a brand-new free game and over-simplifies the differences between the two titles.

© Electronic Arts
The gut reaction from a big part of the gaming community has been to declare it a better competitive title. However, the truth is a little more nuanced. Apex Legends is a different breed of Battle Royale. There elements of Fortnite in there, but its gameplay is actually closer to PUBG than Fortnite. Its shooter elements are borrowed from other popular games. Apex Legends is a fun addition to the Battle Royale genre and helps to show that the style of game has the legs to continue to diversify. It’s not a Fortnite replacement, but another thing entirely. If there’s room in the competitive scene for Fortnite, Overwatch, and PUBG, then there is definitely room for Fortnite and Apex Legends to co-exist. In short, despite some lower streaming numbers reports of Fortnite’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
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