American video-game company, Electronic Arts, announced it’s plans to take Apex Legends to a mobile platform.
In a report about quarterly earnings, EA noted that 30-percent of Apex Legends players are new to its games. EA has been making blockbuster game titles for quite a while now, so the statistic really speaks to Apex Legends’ success.
The company stated that 2019 was its strongest fiscal year for live services, and Apex Legends is much to be thanked for it. Free-to-play games that include microtransactions and season pass purchases are creating a lot of funds for game companies.
Building on the newfound success of the game, which is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, EA plans to expand to new markets. The company has apparent “advanced negotiations with China and mobile.” CEO Andrew Wilson stated that EA wishes to expand to South Korea and China through its PC platform Origin. If Apex Legends does indeed expand to mobile, it would likely mean that Android would be on the receiving end, as well as iOS.
Battle Royale style games have been all the rage as of late. Currently, Fortnite and PUBG, two of the other popular titles of the genre, are available on Android. Only PUBG is available on the Play Store, as Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has made its game only available through online download.
Mobile gaming is a complicated platform, especially for Android. The games available range from small time-wasters to bigger titles such as PUBG. For the most part, due to small screens on smartphones, mobile gaming can be a struggle. Trying to use the touch controls without blocking the actual gameplay too much can prove to be a challenge when playing more intensive games.
The past release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold provided a new light for the platform (until its issues of course). The bendable smartphone opened up mobile games to be played like a tablet when folded out. The bigger screen lends to an easier playing experience that isn’t as cramped as a regular smartphone.
Gaming companies such as ASUS and Razer have both released gaming smartphones. Razer is now on its second generation of the Razer Phone and ASUS has produced a ROG handset. These types of smartphones have been aimed at the mobile gaming audience. The Razer Phone has a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate to make playing games more smooth, and a set of front-firing stereo speakers.
Gaming smartphones have features, as well as designs, that most customers simply don’t need. Both the Razer and ROG phone scream gamer; however, for the serious mobile gamer, could be just what he or she is looking for.
With the likelihood of Apex Legends coming to Android, the mobile gaming platform is looking promising. Smartphone displays are getting larger every year and with folding phones on the rise, the small screen issue might soon be in the past. Developers are increasingly attempting to expand to mobile platforms and as long as they maintain quality, is a good thing.