Apex Legends maker Respawn Entertainment has opened a new development studio in Madison, Wisconsin.

The EA-owned company said the expansion will allow it to strengthen the Apex Legends development team to help the shooter become the "premiere" offering in the battle royale genre.

The new studio will be led by industry veteran Ryan Burnett, who previously worked at Epic Games (director, engine production) and Raven Software (senior executive producer).

"Ryan is an extraordinary leader with a proven track record in live service games and as a pillar in the massive mid-western game development community in Madison," said Respawn, commenting on the hire.

The Wisconsin studio will work alongside Respawn's teams in Los Angeles and Vancouver to support Apex in the long-term.

The news comes around a month after Apex delivered a new peak Steam player count after the launch of Season 16, "Revelry," which featured a variety of new game modes including team deathmatch.

Following the release of Revelry, the battle royale shooter hit over 610,000 players on Steam alone, topping its previous record Steam player count of 510,000.