When the Apex Legends Global Series left for the Winter Circuit on January 29, we spoke to ALGS Commissioner John Nelson about the future of Respawn Entertainment’s battle king as an esports.
Looking back over the past year and ignoring the obstacles beyond your control, how do you feel about the growth of Apex Legends as an esport?
I think Apex Legends esports is in a great place. Clearly, at the beginning of this year we decided to have a very different Apex Legends Global series than the one we finally ended up with, one that would have at least 12 live events – and the world said ‘you can not have, it should all be online. But now we’ve really hit a snag with the online circuits and found a formula for Apex Legends esports (while it should be online).
And it really works: to work for the players who participate and we also saw over time how the viewer grows. We had to work through a lot of adversity this year, but we are very excited about where we have ended up and are ready to return to live events as soon as it is safe.
Apex Legends enjoys an avid informal fanbase and much of the game’s content is tailored to that group. Is there a backlog in the growth of esports compared to the comfortable growth?
I certainly did not observe such a thing. In some ways, the opposite is true. Every season we see more and more players participating in the leagues of the game, and this is where many players get their competitive start: they measure themselves within the rankings and then study to some extent in the Apex Legends. Global series.
So, the increased enthusiasm surrounding the in-game ranking system and seeing ALGS players like ImperialHal are influencers in the game really shows how, from a viewer’s point of view, even if it’s not ALGS content, how enthusiastic viewers are about watching some of the best players in the world.
Apex Legends Season 7 has been released with some spicy new skins.
Given the above content reduction, how much dialogue is there between Respawn’s esports and casual teams to ensure that new additions match competitive goals? In essence, how much focus is on ensuring that things that are good on a competitive level do not become professional?
I think there are a few different angles for this one. First, I can say that the Respawn development team listens to feedback across the skill spectrum, but especially when they talk about esports, they have listened to the professional community and given their thoughts on how to improve the game in certain ways.
Although I can not talk about details, I think we will see in 2021 how things come into play, which are improvements that are specifically based on professional feedback from players.
18 hours in and I still do not miss it pic.twitter.com/bRB5Txs8Yn
– ImperialHal (@TSM_ImperialHal) 31 December 2020
What we see a lot in games with legends with certain abilities is that based on the skill level we can see the use of different guns and legends on a gold level, a diamond level or an ALGS end level. There are differences there.
And I think it contributes to a healthy game, with guns or legends having the appearance or usability at some skill levels, but maybe not others. The community can enjoy things in different ways.
At what point is there a rift, where, for example, appendices are allowed in the base game but banned in the ALGS?
We take things legend by legend and item by item, but I have tremendous confidence in the Respawn development team to be able to design things that are balanced and to get feedback from the community when needed to continue the to make game balanced. move forward. But there are even cases where we have made changes to remove things from competitive play. The Gold Knockdown Shield is a good example of this – which has not been part of the ALGS since this summer.
Gold Knockdown Shields was worthy of being excluded from professional play.
In terms of legends and abilities, other sports like League of Legends and Overwatch have introduced hero bans (or selection restrictions). Is this something the ALGS are considering as the game portfolio legends grow?
It is. I do not know that it will ever really be a part of the Apex Legends esports, but it is definitely something we are considering. It also brings just one more interesting dynamic to the esport itself. It drives the conversation between fans and analysts of the game, and just tries to predict what the ban of a team will be and how they will strategize based on the ban that has come out and the legend pool that is available to them.
It definitely has some positive aspects there. Of course, we are not yet in a place where we need to implement something like this, but it is definitely a thought that we have paid attention to for the future.
Horizon is the latest legend added to Apex’s growing cast.
When we talk about RNG-based issues, there was concern about ring logic and how it affects the game on a competitive level. Have you seen and considered your community proposals for the introduction of predetermined ring movements?
Absolutely, we’ve seen the kind of suggestions or, at the very least, the suggestion that there’s a little more regularity to the termination of circles within ALGS. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes, but I can say that we have heard the feedback and had discussions about possible solutions.
What you brought along before – with more regularity in the end circles or more predictability – is one of the things we discussed.
What wrinkles should fans of the Winter Circuit expect compared to the fall?
We made some adjustments to the way places are allocated in the playoffs. We’ve moved our broadcast from Mondays to Sundays, so I think our Winter Circuit broadcast will benefit the weekends and all of our fans who have more time to watch the ALGS on the weekend than on the weekday.
Like I said earlier, we really found a groove with these circuits, so there was not much to change between fall and winter. One of the great things is that we have increased the price pool, which now amounts to $ 750,000. What really stands out is the growth of the Apex Legends Global Series. This reflects the growth and should be seen as an expectation that is at least as great in the price pool.
Aside from the prize pool, what are the plans for the ALGS placement points that teams earn during each course?
Ever since we launched the Apex Legends Global Series, it has always been our intention that ALGS points should be a determining factor in qualifying for live events. As soon as we can return to live events again, we plan to make it right.
For the better part of this year and how we had to turn the ALGS, many players outside this stand-alone track wondered, ‘what are my points for?’ and we intend to use it as intended as live opportunity qualifications as soon as it is physically possible again.
The ALGS Winter Track is the largest Apex esport event on the horizon.
And I assume that part of it will involve interregional events?
When I say return to live events, I’m talking about returning to global live events. It’s been on the Preseason invitation since September last year since we were able to crown a world champion and we look forward to the day when we can do it again.
Is a different approach to the meta of each region at the regional level something viewers can expect to see?
It actually is. From APAC North to APAC South to Europe, North America and South America, each region really has its own meta.
Each region uses legendary abilities on a professional level.
In the Playoffs of the Summer Circuit, for example, we saw a Revenant in every team in APAC North – and I’m not sure we saw one in the playoffs of America. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes. Each region has its own meta.
So I can not wait for live opportunities from one point of view to just want to crown a world champion. but I also can not wait for these regions, which have been holding their competitions for a long time now, to mix metas and see what happens when those different legendary combinations come together again.
After a delay, the ALGS Winter Track starts on January 29th. This is followed by the Apex Legends Global Series Championship, which will house the best 60 teams, and a prize pool of $ 1 million.