Apex Legends is in a bit of a lull right now. The game’s recent changes have been unpopular and we’ve seen Apex Twitch viewing numbers hit a real low. It seems this season has been a failure in other areas too though. EA has spoken recently about the development of the game, saying that Apex Season 17 was a financial failure.

In a recent August Earnings Call, EA has given some feedback on the performance on Apex Legends. They’ve specifically acknowledged some major problems facing the series right now.

Source: Respawn

EA Says Apex Season 17 was a Financial Failure

Speaking in an earnings call, EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson said that “Apex is one of the strongest franchises and live services in the industry,” but went on to say that Season 17 “did not meet our financial expectations “. Earnings Calls are typically the most generous readings of performance, but they’ve essentially admitted that Apex Season 17 was a financial failure.

The earnings call did also reveal that the game still has 18 million active monthly players, but had failed to meet targets on players numbers and for financial performance. The game monetization profits have clearly dipped as players have left the game over this season. The CEO also said “Apex Legends is a highly successful original IP for EA with a strong community of loyal core players. This quarter, net bookings were below expectations largely driven by underperformance from Season 17 “. Between the Apex ranked changes and other problems this season, it’s not surprising it’s been disappointing.

It wasn’t all bad news though. Speaking about how the game will evolve from here, they said “As an evergreen live service that is constantly evolving, our teams continue to innovate on content and introduce new modes of play to engage a broader base of players across different geographies… We will continue to invest behind the talented team at Respawn to drive long-term expansion and growth of the franchise.”

Players frustrated with the game this season might be happy to see the backlash has actually managed to impact EA’s bottom line. Hopefully, this will mean a bit more focus on making the game engaging once we get Apex Legends Season 18 and beyond.