Just like every viral sensation these days, Fortnite is already out the door with the youth. In the summer of 2017, a new revolutionary video game was released. This game went viral and was the beginning of a gaming revolution. Fortnite became such a revolutionary game because of its battle royale system. Although there have been some other battle royale games before, Fortnite was the first soley battle royale game to be a hit. The second and main reason Fortnite has been such a revolutionary game is that it is free to play. Epic Games does not charge a penny, and due to this they were able to amass many more users than a competing battle royale game with a $60 price tag. However, there is a new game in town, and it goes by the name of Apex Legends.

On Feb. 4, a new battle royale game, Apex Legends, was released. Within the first month, 50 million users had been registered. Apex Legends was developed by Respawn Entertainment, who is owned by EA Games. Apex Legends is now the first battle royale game made by one of the major gaming developing companies, and it shows that the industry is now leaning in that direction.

Besides the overall positive reviews Apex Legends has, students have had mixed opinions on the new upcomer, and some argue that Fortnite is still in competition. “I think that Fortnite is definitely not dead but it is dying. If it wants to continue being successful it needs to appeal to its players more than it is right now,” senior Alex Bellem said. “I think the main thing that is different from Fortnite and Apex Legends is that Apex Legends has roles and characters that really help the game flow better. It also has respawning, which is new to battle royal games, and makes dying feel less defeating.”

Although this may be partially true, there are still die-hard Fortnite supporters that believe otherwise. “I think Fortnite will still be around because it’s still very popular and there is a tournament for all players coming up that has a cash reward,” s junior and Fortnite super fan, Omar Hajhassan. “Fortnite is still much better because you can build, and on Apex Legends the characters are plain and boring. In Fortnite there are tons of skins for you to pick from.”

There is one thing these avid gamers have in common though, finances. “I like the new free game meta, it makes gaming feel a lot more fun and less like an expensive hobby than it used to be. I definitely think it will continue to trend especially with the success Fortnite and Apex Legends has seen,” said Bellem. “I think free games are a good way to attract players. The extra cosmetic items like skins and outfits make up for the profit they are missing out on when releasing a free game.” said Hajhassan. It is not clear yet on who the winner of this battle royale competition will be yet, although Apex Legends is closing in. However what is evident about both these games is users no longer want to pay outrageous prices for video games.