Apex Legends has taken off. The game’s rip-roaring start led to 10 million players experiencing the game in the first 72 hours. So far, however, the game has primarily been measured on its own merits. This is likely to change with Apex Legends Twitch views beating those of Fortnite in its first week.
According to Dexerto, the Apex Legends Twitch channel has maintained a position at the top of the viewing charts since the game’s release. The jaw-dropping stats show that Apex Legends average viewership beat Fortnite’s by almost 70,000. Respawn Entertainment’s new title also dominated Fortnite in peak viewership numbers, gaining over 150,000 more than Epic’s title. It’s important to note the gap in popularity wasn’t at all down to weaker numbers on the part of Fortnite, which has maintained similar numbers to recent weeks. Apex Legends Twitch views have skyrocketed of their own accord.
These statistics are another indication of Apex Legends’ immense popularity. Fortnite has been hugely popular on Twitch since launch and has crossed over into the mainstream with stars like Ninja. However, it’s stars like Ninja who may have played into this massive upswing for Apex Legends. Since before launch, EA and Respawn Entertainment have courted streamers. Some footage of the game was leaked before its announcement by streamers who had been invited to play it early. Since its release, streamers like Ninja and Dr DisRespect have been playing Apex Legends online almost non-stop. Apex Legends moves to get streamers playing the game has clearly played a significant role in the game’s Twitch popularity, if not the popularity of the game as a whole.
Statistics like Apex Legends Twitch views, as well as their rising player base, now seem to have caught the attention of Fortnite creators Epic Games. Epic Games has begun targeting those curious about the new title by placing an advertisement at the top of Google searches for “Apex Legends”.
