When Did Apex Legends Come Out?

It’s always kind of weird when a new year arrives, because then I look over the list of games I played in the year prior and have a series of little surprise moments like “wait, that came out last year?!” The game industry has a notoriously short memory, and it’s completely justified; so much stuff comes out in a single year, it can be difficult to keep it all straight in your head. For example, can you remember when Apex Legends came out? I didn’t, and that’s why I (and I presume you) had to look it up. So, when did Apex Legends come out?

When did Apex Legends Come Out?

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts originally released Apex Legends on February 4th, 2019 for PC, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles. Yes, that’s right, Apex is nearly three years old. Feels like it was just yesterday, doesn’t it? The period between 2015 and 2020 was when Fortnite started kicking butts and taking names, which is why everyone and their grandma started making their own Battle Royale games, with only a handful actually developing enough of a player base to survive, Apex included. Does anyone remember Radical Heights? Of course you don’t.

Even when faced by the insurmountable juggernaut that was Fortnite, Apex Legends actually did (and continues to do) pretty well for itself. The game picked up a good 70 million players in its first year alone and has gone on to host 11 seasons of gameplay, with new characters, tweaks, and cosmetics added all the time. The game reached a particular milestone on March 9th, 2021 when it made the jump to Nintendo Switch and broadened its userbase even further.

Apex will be celebrating its three-year anniversary in just a month’s time, so if you’re a player, be on the lookout for a major in-game event.