If you've noticed your kids spending a little less time in "Fortnite" this month, it's not your imagination. The king of battle royale games has found its first real competitor in "Apex Legends," a surprise Feb. 4 release by Respawn Entertainment. In its first week, Respawn reports that the game captured more than 25 million players. Respawn's Apex Legends is a huge hit. If you liked this post and you would like to get even more information concerning Apex Legends Coins kindly check out the web site. The free-to-play battle royale shooter is closing out its second week since release, and it's still retaining its top spot on the Twitch leaderboards following its successful first e-sports event. Top streamers like Ninja and Shroud continue to play the game on a daily basis, and it's looking like it could have a healthy life as a top-tier competitive game if Respawn puts the resources into building out a proper tournament structure.

Apex Legends is the new golden child of the gaming industry, an instant megahit unlike anything we've seen in ages. It's not just that it launched and defied and expectations, it's that there were no expectations because the entire game was kept a secret until it leaked just days before launch. And then it got 25 million players in the next week. Cheaters flock to popular games, so it comes as no surprise to see cheating already hit Apex Legends.

Apex Legends got its first update on February 13th, and with it came Valentine's Day-themed cosmetics. Although players have been posting online about how they are grateful for the treat, some have expressed worry about the relatively high prices of these cosmetics, and what that might say about the game's future. Video games don't typically launch with a high-profile tournament already scheduled, but in its short history, Apex Legends already has proved it is not a typical game. Respawn Entertainment's surprise-release battle royale behemoth surpassed 25 million players in its first week, outpacing even Fortnite in initial player-base acquisition. Now Apex is indirectly challenging that industry titan in the esports arena, and following the first leg of its debut event, Twitch Rivals: Apex Legends Challenge, Respawn demonstrated equally intriguing potential.

EA's new game Apex Legends sent the company's stock skyrocketing 16 percent on Feb. 8 when the company announced that it had 10 million players within 3 days of launch. Then, on Feb. 12, shares jumped again, 8 percent, when EA said the game had reached record 25 million players. The new free-to-play shooter is growing faster than the massively popular Fortnite, and investors are excited about its potential to earn EA big bucks.

The game has obvious parallels to "Fortnite," but it's not the same. Here are tips parents should know know about Apex Legends from a parent who's spending way too much time playing it. I was one of them. As an aging gamer, I've steered away from most online games due to my increasingly pokey reflexes and intolerance for taking criticism over them. I was skeptical, but Respawn's quality track record on previous games like "Titanfall" led me to give this a shot. I've had a blast playing Apex Legends, both alone and with family and friends.