Apex Legends’ sprawling multi-console and multi-generational appeal has been one of the most promising talking points in the video gaming industry this decade. Although the game first appeared in 2019, it has been the 2020s that have seen it flourish into a titan of the video gaming world, with multiple consoles, online game modes, underlying betting markets, and over 100 million players worldwide, all within a couple of years.
As Apex continues to innovate and move forward, what changes can we expect in 2026, and can EA keep adding to a game that, for some gamers, already offers everything? Let’s dive in.
Underlying Betting Markets
By many measuring sticks, Apex Legends is one of the most popular video games in the world. In terms of prize pool, it is currently ranked in the top three, but the rapid ascent of the game has had many people in the business believing that it could surpass some of the stalwarts in the market, such as Counter-Strike, which has been sat at the top of the esports world for years, and reasserting itself in the top spot since the development of CS2 in 2023.
Counter-Strike 2 has larger prize pools, often because it has more tournaments than Apex Legends, and the popularity of these tournaments often correlates with the popularity of the underlying betting markets. Over the next year or two, as betting companies continue to make headway into the broader world of entertainment and esports, many believe that Apex Legends still has room to grow into the gambling world.
The growth of the betting market as a whole has created more opportunities for it to expand its reach. Bovada esports odds fuse cryptocurrency, blockchain, and broad appeal to other esports, helping expand this niche into new territories.
While esports odds might not be directly related to the game itself, the underlying health of subsidiary markets like betting provides a strong indicator of the overall appeal, so expect to see more betting markets unfold over the next year to 18 months.
Leaning Into AI Developments
You’d have to be living under a rock not to understand how AI is transforming the world of media, as well as how people understand sports and gaming. Apex Legends has made moves to integrate AI development into many of its latest developments.
In 2026, some analysts believe that Respawn will earmark even more of its research and development capital to identify areas where the game could improve by leveraging the latest AI gaming technology.
Developers still manually design a large chunk of NPCs’ characteristics, but with more game designers looking to turn these ideas into complex and fully AI-generated ideas, we could see this influence bleed into Apex Legends developments over the next 12 months.
The Power Of Community Feedback
With one of the most fervent communities within the gaming landscape, Apex Legends is constantly listening to its hardcore fans and aiming to implement their feedback. In a global market, the ubiquity of constant feedback is at risk of saturating some industries, but in games like Apex, effective feedback and the changes it drives can boost a game’s popularity.
Now, this might sound a bit contradictory for those who are especially vocal on the socials. We’ve seen how the Loe of the Apex Universe has created a huge, dynamic character ecosystem, with many fans believing it has enough strength to be turned into a series or a movie, as other hit games like The Last of Us have.
Fans of Apex have been screaming from the rooftops about lore, stories, and issues with making the gameplay more complicated. The team often talks about revitalizing key elements of the game, like the looting experience and squad play, and this has been divisive.
There are plenty of gamers who believe that these are simply different levels of lip service, depending on the area of the game they’re focusing on, including constant. Some would say that it is pointless additions to wildcard mode that don’t actually improve the gaming experience at its core.
We’ve seen the team strengthen their services, remove cheaters from the game, and improve audiovisual elements. Although to play devil’s advocate, these are changes that should be the norm, the team should be dreaming bigger, and as the game continues to become more popular and has more global feedback, if they’re able to implement it effectively, this could breathe a new lease of life into the game in 2026 and beyond.
Moving Forwards – Final Thoughts
The devs at Respawn have a lot going for them: a diehard audience, esports tournaments that bring in millions, and an engaged community that continues to provide feedback. These are all signs of a game that has plenty of room for growth.
However, we have seen games take their communities for granted in the past. If Apex continues to ignore popular community requests and continues to deviate from the game’s initial design, which made it so internationally popular in the first place, then 2026 could end up being integral in the trajectory the game takes between now and the end of the decade.
