EA is working with a partner to take Apex Legends to China

Electronic Arts is taking its successful free-to-play battle royale game Apex Legends to the Chinese market in partnership with an unnamed Chinese company, said CEO Andrew Wilson said in an earnings call with analysts today.

“We are bringing our games and intellectual properties to new regions, including continued mobile growth in Asia and plans to launch Apex Legends in China,” Wilson said during comments on the company’s third fiscal quarter ended December 31.

Wilson didn’t say who the partner was, but typically, American companies are required to have a local Chinese partner to launch games in China.

Since the game debuted in March, Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends game has launched three seasons of content. The game got 50 million users in a month (including me), and it grew to tens of millions more later in the year.

Chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen noted how the team launched three new Legends, five in-game events, three town takeovers, a whole new map and six new game modes. EA also recently announced an esports competition for Apex Legends with $3 million in prizes.

The game was a big reason why live services and net booking rose 27% in the third fiscal quarter, compared to a year earlier, Jorgensen said.