Key Takeaways from Apex Legends: Mobile's Successful AAA Franchise Port

The mobile gaming landscape is witnessing a surge in AAA franchises, with titles like Diablo Immortal, Call of Duty: Mobile, and PUBG: Mobile dominating the charts. Apex Legends: Mobile, launched worldwide on May 17, stands out as a prime example of how to effectively port a AAA franchise to mobile, retaining the fast-paced mobility of its PC and console counterparts. This results in a solid, fluid, and enjoyable gameplay experience, which is crucial for a competitive shooter. Although Apex Mobile had a strong start with impressive download and revenue numbers, its revenue has been gradually declining, with the revenue-to-download ratio remaining relatively stable at $0.70 per download. To better understand the game's success, let's delve into its unique features and the numbers behind it. Apex Legends: Mobile boasts several differences from its console and PC versions, including exclusive content such as new characters, gameplay mechanics, and modes. The introduction of a mobile-only character, Fade, provides an incentive for existing Apex Legends players to download the mobile game. Fade can be unlocked using Apex coins or through free-to-play, with the option to earn him without spending money. This approach is noteworthy, as exclusive characters are often used to encourage in-game purchases. Like other Apex Legends characters, Fade has distinct perks and abilities, along with cosmetic items that can be earned through loot crates or purchased. Apex Legends: Mobile also features a permanent classic deathmatch mode, which is not available in the console and PC versions, offering a more traditional shooter experience. The game incorporates progressive elements, such as skill trees and the ability to earn XP for weapons and characters, which are essential for player retention. At GameRefinery, we track key motivational drivers for specific genres, and our tool is divided into six categories: social, mastery, escapism, exploration, expression, and management. For battle royale games like Apex Legends, the mastery category is a significant motivator, as players enjoy tracking progress and improving their skills. Apex Legends: Mobile introduces mastery levels for characters, which can be upgraded by playing with the desired character. This unlocks perks that can be equipped in the loadout, providing minor benefits. The mastery-level feature is unique to the mobile version and adds a twist to the gameplay. Social elements are a trending feature in mobile games and serve as an important motivational driver for battle royale games. The popularity of social features like special in-game currencies, guilds, and chat functions has grown by 13% in the last year among top-grossing shooter games. This indicates an industry-wide trend where players seek games that offer socialization opportunities. Apex Legends: Mobile incorporates social features like Clubs, which allow players to form communities, chat, and play together. Players can complete daily missions to earn a special currency and activity points, which can be used to level up their Club and unlock rewards. The game's monetization methods are similar to its competitors, relying heavily on the Battle Pass. Although the game features various gachas, such as Apex Packs, Store Vault, and Phase Heists, most players progress through the game for free or purchase the Battle Pass, which is a common monetization feature in top-grossing mobile games. The reason Apex Legends: Mobile is not in the top-200 grossing mobile chart is due to its competitors offering a more extensive selection of cosmetics and a busier content cadence. Additionally, class-based shooters like Apex are harder to monetize, as each character has their own skins, and players are less likely to purchase cosmetic items for characters they don't use. In a crowded mobile gaming market, it will be interesting to see if Apex Legends: Mobile can carve out a portion of the market for itself. The game's live-ops calendar and potential collaborations with major brands could help increase revenue. The recent launch of a new season and hero has already shown a positive impact, with a 600% increase in revenue. However, it remains to be seen if this momentum can be sustained.