In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts confirmed that a mobile version of Apex Legends is currently in development. EA confirmed that the popular, free-to-play battle royale game would be coming to mobile devices in the future. Specific details regarding EA's plans, including whether the game is being ported, whether it's a standalone game, or even whether it's being developed in-house at Respawn Entertainment, remain unknown. EA plans to share more information when "negotiations are concluded."
EA's full comments regarding Apex Legends' current status describe how the publisher is, "working aggressively to bring the game to more players, in more markets and platforms around the world." The announcement that Apex Legends would be coming to mobile was made alongside confirmation that Apex Legends was also being brought to China.
Therein lies some of the confusion regarding EA's reveal. In saying that Apex Legends is being brought to China and to mobile in the same sentence could imply that the mobile version of Apex Legends is being made specifically for the Chinese market. More than that, EA could be implying that it's being made for mobile by a Chinese partner specifically for the Chinese market.
For example, the mobile version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds released in the west was actually made by Tencent for Chinese markets. It's certainly a possibility that EA is partnering with a Chinese company such as Tencent to create a mobile version of Apex Legends which could then be released internationally later. After all, Respawn Entertainment is hard at work on future Apex Legends content as well as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
A mobile version of Apex Legends would inarguably be a major boon for Electronic Arts much like Fortnite mobile was for Epic Games. Fortnite's initial success was in many ways similar to Apex Legends', except at the height of its success Fortnite released a mobile version of the game and quadrupled its player count in the months that followed. That's certainly possible for Apex Legends as well, though the peak of its success is potentially behind it now.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: ResetEra