Apex Legends is close to making $2 billion in just 2 years' time, making it one of EA's most successful franchises.
Respawn's battle royale sensation has supercharged EA's business so much that the publisher now sees it as a blockbuster game, putting it alongside Battlefield 2042. EA's yearly live service net bookings have grown 39% since Apex Legends released in FY19, and reached a record high of $4.5 billion last year.
Apex is raking in serious cash. The BR broke $1 billion in lifetime earnings last year, and even made $600 million in FY21 alone. Now the free-to-play game is close to hitting $2 billion.
"Respawn has obviously driven the amazing development of Apex, but they've partnered with us extremely well to drive what is now -- it's coming up to almost $2 billion in business over 2 years. That's unheard of in our industry,"EA Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said in a recent Q1 FY22 earnings call.
"Live services also performed better than expected, led by continued growth in Apex Legends," Jorgensen said.
EA has extremely high confidence in Apex Legends and expects the franchise to grow by $1 billion every year from hereon out. The new Apex mobile game will help raise yearly earnings.
