Apex Legends has hit a new peak player count record on Steam following the launch of Season 8, blowing past the previous number.
The start of Apex Legends Season 8 was slightly different to previous seasons, given it brought an anniversary event to celebrate the game’s second anniversary.
Apart from that, the new season brought everything players were expecting – a new legend in the form of Fuse, a new weapon in the 30-30 Repeater, map changes to Kings Canyon, and a whole lot more.
The new season appears to have been quite the success for Respawn Entertainment, given that they’ve now hit a new peak player count on Steam – blowing by their previous record, set during Season 7.
Apex was previously exclusive to EA’s Origin platform, but after plenty of calls from fans, they finally let go of their exclusive grip on the popular battle royale and let it arrive on Steam back in November.
The launch on Steam, and changes to Season 7, saw the previous peak player count stand at just a shade under 130,000 players, but the hype and excitement for Season 8 helped that record spike quite significantly.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
According to SteamCharts, a website that tracks the player count figures, Apex peaked at just under 197,000 players on Saturday, February 27. The exact figure was 196,799, so the game really isn’t all that far away from 200,000 either.
AND – Apex Legends just hit a new all-time peak player count on Steam, with 196,799 concurrent players!
(Dead game though obviously) pic.twitter.com/AQwGcUa5UA
— Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL) February 27, 2021
While a new player count peak is cause for celebration, there’s no doubt that Respawn will want to kick on to 200,000 players and beyond on Steam alone.
That could come later in Season 8. Changes have already been mooted, with devs teasing buffs and nerfs for weapons – as well as a plenty lengthy set of patch notes. Though, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. It might take the hype that comes with Season 9 to give the game another major boost.