Is Apex Legends the new Fortnite? Signs point to not really

In its short though already storied history, the battle royale genre has definitely drawn passionate responses both from fans and detractors alike, and no game more so than Fortnite.

The game that dethroned PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Fortnite combines the construction elements found in Minecraft-style survival games with the first-person shooting of a Call of Duty or Halo game. Throw in a graphical style that most systems can accommodate and a price that everyone can afford (read: free), it is no wonder that Epic Games’ Fortnite has taken over gamers’ lives and the popular press.

But could those days be going away? Probably not, but everyone is always on the prowl for the next sensation in the gaming world. That’s probably why proclamations that Apex Legends is going to overtake Fortnite as the must-play game are likely overblown, if not imaginary.

It isn’t that Fortnite is like a diamond and will be with us forever; on the contrary, in fact, if popular sentiment among so-called “hardcore” gamers has anything to say about it. Perhaps that explains why so many people are rushing to call Apex Legends the new Fortnite. Partially, it is a hopeful wish, and, to a lesser extent, it shows just how hard it is to stay on top in gaming. Criticism and derision isn’t unheard of in the gaming industry, but Fortnite draws a particularly virulent brand of detractors.

Whether it is the appealing but deceptive free-to-play model or the “childish” graphics, Fortnite’s displacement of PUBG is as strange as it is easy to understand. And the fact that Epic Games is attempting to build out a whole service on Fortnite’s back doesn’t help things. After all, what better way to launch a Steam competitor than by using all of those Fortnite accounts as a launching platform?

That last part has really rubbed some people the wrong way, and for case example one you only need to look at the current Metro Exodus debacle. An Epic Games Store exclusive, Metro Exodus is being review-bombed on Metacritic because of this. Blamed on so-called “Steam fanatics”, Metro Exodus’ initial exclusivity on the new service (and the reaction it has received) might serve as a warning for other companies. Nothing encourages a publisher to change like an Internet outcry by a dedicated minority. If you’re the Epic Games Store, combating this is going to be a lot of the initial challenge the service will face.

But back to Apex Legends: Is it the next Fortnite? It could be, but does that really matter?

There’s little doubt that Apex Legends is an awesome game, and it is definitely finding an audience. Yet, as outlined above, a lot of the hype might be overblown simply because Epic Games is a moving target right now that everyone is trying to hit – preferably with an arrow to the knee. Gamers, of course, won’t be dissuaded from playing a good game no matter what is going on around it. But as for Apex Legends overtaking Fortnite, it’s just too early to call that.