Here's How Apex Legends Was Inspired by Kanye West and Beyonce

Apex Legends launch was apparently inspired by both Kanye West and Beyonce, proving once again that the origins of everything can ultimately be traced back to either Ye or Bey. As you may remember the popular, free-to-play battle royale game hit PS4, Xbox One, and PC earlier this year out of nowhere. There was no pre-release marketing or anything. The game simply dropped. Rather than dump tubs of cash into traditional pre-release marketing, EA and Respawn paid the biggest streamers to stream the game when it went live. It was a very risky strategy, but one that seemingly paid off. The game exploded, and at one point looked poised to dethrone Fortnite, though this never quite happened. That said, the game's launch was a massive success, and to this day it's one of the most popular games in the world.

Again, this was a very risky strategy by marketing. Sure, if it works, you look like a genius, but if it doesn't come together, you look terribly silly, and hey, who knows, you may even be out of a job at that point. That said, while this marketing strategy isn't common for AAA games, it's in other entertainment industries, such as music. In fact, when marketing lead on the game, Arturo Castro, thought of doing it, he was inspired by the likes of Kanye West and Beyonce who have randomly dropped projects in the past.

"The idea of long-form campaigns was being challenged," said Castro while speaking to Games Industry. "Beyonce famously drops her album, and day one it becomes a massive hit. Kanye West did the same thing... Why couldn't it work for games?"

According to Castro, the development team was a bit nervous about what marketing was doing, and even the marketing lead admitted "it was a big risk," but well, again, it paid off.

Apex Legends is available, for free, via the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. At the moment of publishing, there's been no word of a release date on additional platforms. For more news, rumors, leaks, media, and information on the game, be sure to take a quick gander at our past and recent coverage of the title by clicking right here.