EA soared 16 percent Friday after announcing its Fortnite competitor gained 10 million players in its first 72 hours.
The stock fell nearly the same amount just a few days earlier after reporting its third-quarter 2019 earnings. CEO Andrew Wilson had said the company “did not perform to our expectations,” reporting a revenue miss of $1.61 billion vs. estimate of $1.75 billion, according to Refinitiv. But Friday’s rally puts the stock back in the positive for the week, up 7 percent.
Apex Legends, a game from Respawn Entertainment, is a free-to-play game, similar to Fortnite, the popular game that has rocked the traditional gaming industry this quarter.
Apex Legends’ quick traction shows some traditional players are beginning to catch up to the free-to-play, battle royale genre of gaming popularized by Fortnite. A note from KeyBanc Capital Markets published Friday said it took Fortnite two weeks to gain 10 million players, though it said “it’s unfair to compare the two, because the market for battle royale was clearly very different 12-18 months ago, but regardless, 10M players is quite an accomplishment.”
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