‘Apex Legends’ game sales helps boost EA shares
Shares of Electronic Arts (EA) jumped after the video game maker said 25 million players signed up for its new battle royal game Apex Legends.
EA is hoping to reproduce the success of Epic Games’ Fortnite, whose blending of The Hunger Games and Minecraft has been a global hit with teenagers and older gamers over the past two years.
EA had disclosed the new number on Twitter.
Apex Legends had signed up 10 million players within three days of its launch, EA said last week, a milestone that Fortnite had taken two weeks to reach.
As of Friday, the game was the most viewed on gaming live-streaming network Twitch.
Electronic Arts’ “topsy-turvey” current financial year “took a decidedly positive turn last Friday when they announced “Apex Legends”,” Bernstein analyst Matt Romariz said, raising his price target on the stock.
“Apex Legends’ stunning success should also greatly reduce the frustration with management sometimes expressed by investors.
“Apex Legends demonstrates a brave innovation,” Mr Romariz said, adding that Fortnite took three months to reach 30 million users.
The news comes almost a week after the company lowered its yearly revenue projections following weak sales of its Battlefield V title, that had sent its stock plunging 18%. The rise in EA shares in the latest session helped pare the losses in the company’s stock back to 17% in the past year.
