LogInProject codenamed Scout, "heavily" inspired By Apex Legends, is expected "to capitalize on the player count of Apex dropping."
Respawn
While the recently published industry report from NewZoo proves that players' interest in the Battle Royale genre has been decreasing in recent years, and Apex Legends, Respawn's battle royal hero shooter, contributed to a 13% out of the total 50% drop in playtime for free-to-play games last year, Ubisoft has viewed the situation as a new opportunity to dive in.
As reported by Insider Gaming, a project codenamed Scout has been in development for years at Ubisoft. It is "heavily" inspired by Apex Legends to the extent that it was once used as the project's thumbnail. Some of its characters would be "very similar" to ones from Apex Legends, and fans can expect "a spin on Pathfinder, Wraith, Lifeline, and other characters."
Speaking about the goal of the game, one source said it is "to capitalize on the player count of Apex dropping and them [Ubisoft higher-ups] thinking there's room in the market for another hero Battle Royale." Yet the marketing team seems to hold different opinions, as they wondered "what's next after Battle Royale."
This is actually a good question to think about, especially considering it's been eight years since the popular battle royale games, such as PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale, were released and drew millions of players to the genre.
Apex Legends, released in 2019, proved to be a "compelling franchise" and an "industry stalwart," as EA's CEO Andrew Wilson said during the company's earnings call last October. However, after running for six years, it is a bit difficult to maintain the original momentum. Its Season 22, which introduced tons of new features, didn't seem to bring the anticipated change that the publisher wished for, and the company "did not see the lift in monetization we had expected." Therefore, Andrew believed that to "drive significant growth and engagement," it's necessary to bring "large systematic change."
The current situation, combined with the EA boss' commentary on the potential overhaul of Apex Legends to sustain future growth, has made Ubisoft's decision to buck the trend and swim in the red ocean even more brave. It's still possible, though, that the company has some unique ideas that neither current similar products in the market nor its last attempt in the genre, Hyper Scape, which was shut down in 2022 after running for a year and a half, would feature.
Do you believe Ubisoft's rumored battle royale game would get a share of cake from this market? Let us know. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.