05-10-2019, 10:31 AM
EA in ‘advanced negotiations’ to bring Apex Legends to China and mobile
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ea-in-advanced-negotiations-to-bring-apex-legends-to-china-and-mobile.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p>During a call with investors (transcribed by <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4261270-electronic-arts-inc-ea-ceo-andrew-wilson-q4-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">SeekingAlpha</a>), EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen shared that the company is currently in talks to bring <em>Apex Legends</em> to China and mobile platforms.</p>
<p>The Chinese government is infamously strict about what games it will approve for monetization and release in the country, and those regulations have <a href="http://gamasutra.com/view/news/341134/Chinas_game_approval_rules_will_soon_apply_to_HTML5_and_WeChat_minigames.php">only strengthened</a> this last year. But, for the games that can get approved China can be a valuable market given the fact that the country represents a <a href="http://nikopartners.com/china-gaming-regulator-to-introduce-new-approval-process-this-month/">$30 billion video game industry</a> and over 600 million players.</p>
<p>“We are in advanced negotiations to bring <em>Apex Legends</em> to China and to mobile,” said Jorgensen, “And we will update you on timeframes when those negotiations are concluded.”</p>
<p>Beyond that, details are unclear. Fellow battle royale games <em>PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds </em>and <em>Fortnite</em> followed similar paths after first releasing on PC and consoles, though Tencent just this week had to <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/342255/Tencent_shuts_down_PUBG_Mobile_in_China_following_approval_struggles.php">pull support for the <em>PUBG</em> mobile game</a> in China due to licensing complications.</p>
<p>Even without a mobile version of the game or a release in China, EA says that <em>Apex Legends</em> is “easily the fastest-growing franchise we’ve ever had.” The company’s current forecasts see <em>Apex Legends</em> bringing in net bookings in the range of $300 million to $400 million in the 2020 fiscal year, and that’s before even considering income from a mobile or Chinese release of the game.</p>
</div>
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ea-in-advanced-negotiations-to-bring-apex-legends-to-china-and-mobile.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p>During a call with investors (transcribed by <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4261270-electronic-arts-inc-ea-ceo-andrew-wilson-q4-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">SeekingAlpha</a>), EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen shared that the company is currently in talks to bring <em>Apex Legends</em> to China and mobile platforms.</p>
<p>The Chinese government is infamously strict about what games it will approve for monetization and release in the country, and those regulations have <a href="http://gamasutra.com/view/news/341134/Chinas_game_approval_rules_will_soon_apply_to_HTML5_and_WeChat_minigames.php">only strengthened</a> this last year. But, for the games that can get approved China can be a valuable market given the fact that the country represents a <a href="http://nikopartners.com/china-gaming-regulator-to-introduce-new-approval-process-this-month/">$30 billion video game industry</a> and over 600 million players.</p>
<p>“We are in advanced negotiations to bring <em>Apex Legends</em> to China and to mobile,” said Jorgensen, “And we will update you on timeframes when those negotiations are concluded.”</p>
<p>Beyond that, details are unclear. Fellow battle royale games <em>PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds </em>and <em>Fortnite</em> followed similar paths after first releasing on PC and consoles, though Tencent just this week had to <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/342255/Tencent_shuts_down_PUBG_Mobile_in_China_following_approval_struggles.php">pull support for the <em>PUBG</em> mobile game</a> in China due to licensing complications.</p>
<p>Even without a mobile version of the game or a release in China, EA says that <em>Apex Legends</em> is “easily the fastest-growing franchise we’ve ever had.” The company’s current forecasts see <em>Apex Legends</em> bringing in net bookings in the range of $300 million to $400 million in the 2020 fiscal year, and that’s before even considering income from a mobile or Chinese release of the game.</p>
</div>