2019 has been a long and unpredictable year for Apex Legends. Following the game’s release in February, with almost no marketing or fanfare whatsoever, the game’s popularity skyrocketed, but quickly fell within a month or two. Since then, Respawn have been adding new maps and Legends, and the game is now in its third season, which is believed to be its most successful. Last night, the hard work of the studio in expanding the game and working to cater to their fans paid off, when Apex Legends won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards.
Apex Legends: The 2019 Game Awards’ Best Multiplayer Game
After Game of the Year, Best Multiplayer Game is often one of the more high-profile awards at The Game Awards. After all, it tends to be a contest between some of the year’s biggest triple-A multiplayer games. This year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a strong rival for the award, for example. Apex Legends also faced competition from Borderlands 3, The Division 2, and Tetris 99. Nevertheless, it was Apex Legends which won Best Multiplayer Game.
Apex Legends was also nominated for three other categories during last night’s Game Awards; Best Action Game (which went to Devil May Cry 5), Best Community Support (which went to Destiny 2), and Best Ongoing Game (which went to Fortnite). The game was certainly a favourite for the second category on that list, although Destiny 2’s win is not surprising. Despite some missteps along the way, Respawn has generally fostered a positive relationship with its community. Of course, they have also implemented a lot of fan feedback into the game through updates and patches. Interestingly, this is actually Apex Legends’ second Best Multiplayer win; the game won Best Multiplayer at The Golden Joysticks last month.
Apex Legends’ award victories are also likely to keep the game up and running. Following its initial surge, Apex Legends has never made the same profits as some of EA’s other larger multiplayer titles. As such, there has been some concern among fans that it could eventually be phased out or scaled back in favour of other projects. However, the growth in players during Season 3 and a ‘Best Multiplayer’ award victories are likely to cement its place for the forseeable future.