After the reign of Fortnite, Apex Legends is the new up-and-coming battle royale game. Released February 4, EA’s new game, Apex Legends, has taken the world by storm. The popular gaming genre of battle royale” has long been reigned by Epic Games’ Fortnite, but with Apex amassing 25 million downloads in the first week (more than doubling Fortnite’s) Fortnite may soon give up its throne.

Battle royale is a genre of video game in which surviving, strategy, and scavenging are combined into a last-man-standing match with a hundred players in every game. All of these games are free to download and play, unlike most popular video games. Programmers earn revenue by in-game purchases that players can make to unlock new characters, clothing, or other game-enhancing accessories.

The battle royale genre community erupted with the releases of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or “PU

BG” (2017) and “H1Z1” (2018). These games picked up momentum in the gaming community through online streamers and youtubers posting content. As a following grew, the amount of players for both games snowballed and it grew into a strong community from casual players to professionals.

However, Fortnite’s release left PUBG in the dust, skyrocketing to the national, and international spotlight. It’s popularity grew rapidly, taking over the internet and popular culture. Even some of the most influential celebrities were seen playing the game. A single stream with professional player ‘Ninja’ and rap icon Drake attracted a total of 628 thousand concurrent viewers. Other celebrities pushing the new game include Travis Scott, Kanye West, Lebron James, and even Barack Obama.

Battle royale games have taken upon a development much like open source software, building upon each other to create better games.senior Matt Azia believes that Apex legends has taken the basic platform that Fortnite provided, and crafted it into a much better, more enjoyable game. Apex’s success can be attributed to the heavy lifting that Fortnite did to popularize the genre. Azia says that he, as well as many others are simply “bored of Fortnite”, and Apex provides new and exciting features that are more interesting.

Others contribute the success to different tactics, including ingenious marketing techniques. Apex “fed the market on twitch”, allowing people to observe famous influencers (such as Ninja, among others) play the game first, says Andy Miller, CEO of NRG Esports.

Does this sudden success mean Apex Legends is a better game than Fortnite? This question is a polarizing one, and the battle royale genre seems to be divided in the answer. It all comes down to personal preference. Many argue that Fortnite has and always been the greatest battle royale game, but some say Apex’s new gameplay mechanics and graphics are what make it the best game out there. Blake Morin, a well known gaming senior at Hall High School has stated that although Fortnite has been “dying a bit” he still considers Apex’s lack of multi platform gaming to hold Fortnite as the superior game.

However, only time will tell the future of each of these games, and of the battle royale genre as a whole.