Apex Legends sales have broken a free-to-play record, according to a data research company. Apex Legends has managed to sell a higher value of in-game items in its launch month than any other free-to-play game before it. The in-game sales reached an estimated $92 million.
The Apex Legends sales record was revealed by SuperData, a research company which collects data on video games. The record represents the launch month in-game spending across all platforms. Most of the in-game revenue came from console purchases. Despite beating the likes of Anthem, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto V when it came to in-game purchases in February, Fortnite still beat Apex Legends in overall earnings for the month.
Alongside the Apex Legends sales reporting, SuperData revealed video games consumers spent $8.2 million on digital games on console, PC, and mobile platforms in February. This was a rise of 2 percent from the same month in 2018. The rise was attributed to the growth in mobile, up 9 percent. The growth in mobile is in contrast to a 6 percent decline on PC, which was buoyed last year by sales of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
It was also noted that Anthem was the top-selling game in February when it comes to units sold. Some of the game’s success was attributed to an “above-average digital download rate” by SuperData. In comparison to Apex Legends in-game sales of $92 million, Anthem made $3.5 million in February.
Apex Legends launch was a huge success for EA and Respawn Entertainment. The game reached 50 million players faster than any other title, including Fortnite. Some of Apex Legends rise has been attributed to the massive push it received from game streamers upon launch, such as notable Fortnite streamer Ninja. Ninja accepted $1 million from EA to stream the game at launch. Sales for Apex Legends will likely see another bump following the launch of the game’s first battle pass. The Season 1 battle pass includes rewards for a range of in-game activities. Season 1 also saw the launch of Apex Legends’ latest character, Octane.
