Apex Legends is now five years old, and despite its age, it remains one of the most popular battle royale games, with a strong player count in 2024.
When Apex Legends was launched in February 2019, few anticipated that Respawn Entertainment’s first foray into the battle royale genre would become a phenomenon. It made its debut at a time when Fortnite was at its peak, offering distinct gameplay with its three-person squads that set it apart from competitors.
The game has since weathered the emergence of Warzone and other FPS challengers like The FINALS and XDefiant, solidifying its position as one of the leading battle royales worldwide.
Initially, the game’s performance exceeded expectations, attracting 1 million players within the first 24 hours post-launch on February 4, 2019. By the end of its first week, it boasted 25 million players and reached 50 million by the end of its first month.
Apex Legends continues to attract new players even after five years.
How many players are in Apex Legends in 2024?
As of 2024, Apex Legends has 18 million active monthly players, as disclosed by EA during their FY2024 Q1 earnings call on August 1, 2023.
However, during their Q1 2025 earnings call on July 30, 2024, EA’s Chief Financial Officer Stuart Cranfield mentioned that the game experienced a “year-on-year decline.” The positive aspect is that this decline “improved sequentially,” aligning with the company’s expectations, although no new player numbers were shared during the call.
Apex Legends average player count is declining
This sentiment from Cranfield is illustrated by the average and peak player counts for Apex Legends. August noted a 2.79% increase in average players to 120,008, according to SteamCharts; however, three of the last five months reflected a net decrease, with two months suffering a 16.5% decline.
Trends are heading downward.
This trend is also apparent in the peak player count during this period, with a notable drop in July 2024. The peak player count on Steam in July was 265,369, marking the lowest figure since January 2022.
Also trending downwards.
It’s important to note that these figures only reflect Steam data and do not account for console performance on platforms such as PS5 or Xbox Series X/S.
Additionally, the decline in player numbers in July coincided with the conclusion of Season 21, and with Season 22: Shockwave starting on August 6, an increase was expected. However, the 2.79% rise still falls short compared to the 16.54% and 16.45% increases noted in June and July, respectively.
Apex Legends player count vs. other games
Despite the downward trend, Apex Legends continues to perform competitively against other FPS games on Steam.
Using the 30-day rolling average, Apex remains a significant player in the FPS market, surpassing several major titles on the platform.
| Game | 30-day average |
|---|---|
| Apex Legends | 114,478 |
| Call of Duty | 70,480 |
| Counter-Strike 2 | 887,623 |
| Overwatch 2 | 35,879 |
| Team Fortress 2 | 57,823 |
| Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | 49,194 |
| The FINALS | 16,306 |
While SteamCharts provides insight into performance on Valve’s platform, it does not incorporate console or other launcher usage, which affects the numbers. For example, many Call of Duty and Overwatch players prefer Battle.net over Steam, thus their player counts are likely higher than represented here.
Nonetheless, Apex Legends demonstrates competitive performance against its rivals, although it is unlikely to dethrone Counter-Strike as the FPS leader.
Apex Legends all-time player count
Overall, more than 130 million players have engaged with Apex Legends since its inception. This figure was last confirmed in 2022, indicating it is likely higher today.
On April 14, 2021, Respawn announced that Apex Legends had surpassed 100 million total players, spurred by its release on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
In EA’s earnings call in February 2022, it was reported that Apex had experienced a “more than 30% year-over-year increase in Q3” for monthly active players.
“With over 28 million new players joining in the past year and ongoing seasons and in-game events offering fresh experiences to a highly engaged community, FY 2022 turned out to be Apex’s most successful year yet,” they stated.
While precise numbers were not disclosed, estimations suggest around 130 million total players have experienced the game since its launch.
What is Apex Legends’ peak player count?
Apex Legends debuted on Steam in November 2020, achieving its all-time peak player count of over 620,000 during Season 16.
This article will be updated monthly to provide the latest player data for Apex Legends, so stay tuned to find out how many players are logging into the game daily.
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