Lauren Loveless | staff writer

One moment I was peacefully playing my favorite video game, Overwatch, and then boom! Out of nowhere a new game came out called Apex Legends. I decided to give it a try and downloaded it, expecting it to be another Fortnite copy, but was pleasantly surprised by the way the game played.

Apex Legends is a free-to-play multiplayer battle royale, available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Currently, there is only six characters to play, however, each one is fun in their own way and have unique abilities. The game is much better paced than its rivals Fortnite and PUBG, with its’ quick pace and fun mechanisms.

The big question that people are asking right now is: will Apex overthrow Fortnite?

In all honesty, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apex did end Fortnite’s pathetically long existence, after all, Fortnite is a subjectively bad battle royale. Apex has the full potential to come out on top, as it’s more mature, fast, and interesting–story and graphic wise. Moreover, within the first day Apex gained 10 million players, which beat Fortnite’s old record. For some time, Fortnite has been receiving harsh criticism from young adults and older teenagers, who have called the battle royale “Minecraft with guns, uncreative, and plainly uncool”. For such a popular game, Fortnite has failed to attract anyone besides middle and elementary schoolers… and Ninja, the streamer who gained popularity for whining.

However, in my opinion, it’d be better for Apex to not grow so overwhelming popular. The main reason being, the toxic players and children. Eventually, if Fortnite does die out, the little kids and rude gamers will reach out to Apex, which might ruin the energetic atmosphere the game has. I’ve already encountered a few toxic fellows while soloing, which thoroughly sunk my mood and gave me doubts for Apex’s future. It would be nice if one popular game didn’t become riddled with frustration and pressure; after all, we already have Fortnite and Overwatch for vulgar gamers.

Speaking of Overwatch, the game has taken a devastating hit because of Apex’s release. Last weekend, the Overwatch League, Overwatch’s esport event, hosted a few pre-season skirmishes. While Blizzard was hosting the skirmishes on Twitch, popular Overwatch streamers received more viewers by playing Apex, then the pre-season tournament did. This shows just how disconnected Blizzard is with its’ community and what it wants: new events, new content, and interesting lore. Overwatch simply has been decaying and was practically shot down by Apex. What this means for Overwatch’s future is unsure, however, it’s very possible that Overwatch has lost a large amount of its’ players. And the only one to blame is Overwatch itself.

Apex is likely to gain less popularity as it ages, however, for the time standing, we can expect the battle royale to keep up the hype.