Playing Apex Legends. Todd Haselton | CNBC

What is Apex Legends?

One of several characters to pick from in Apex Legends. Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apex Legends, like Fortnite, is a free-to-play shooting game where you fight through a field of competitors to be the last player standing. It's available for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Unlike Fortnite, you can't play it on smartphones or tablets yet. And it doesn't have cross-platform support, meaning you can only play against people with the same system you have. (One of Fortnite's biggest advantages is it lets anyone play against each other no matter what device they're using.) Apex Legends feels more like a traditional first person shooter game, like Call of Duty or Battlefield, the latter of which has been a big EA franchise, but it gives these games a sci-fi twist. Fortnite has a more cartoonish look.

If it's free, how do Apex Legends and Fortnite make money?

Getting ready to enter a match. Todd Haselton | CNBC

Both games allow players to buy different "skins" or characters that you can use in the game. These skins and other paid add-ons, allow you to show off a different style to your online competitors. Think of it as a fun costume or a "cooler" looking player than someone who hasn't earned anything at all.

This is where you spend money in Apex Legends: on Apex Coins. Todd Haselton | CNBC

You buy these virtual goods with V-Bucks in Fortnite or Apex Coins in Apex Legends. 1,000 coins costs $9.99 in real money on both platforms, but you get more for your buck the more you spend. For example, if you buy 10,000 coins in Apex Legends for $99.99, you get 1,500 coins free. You get a bonus 13,500 V-Bucks for $99.99 in Fortnite. This is the key component for how these games make money from players. Importantly, these aren't pay-to-win games, though. No matter how much you spend, there's no way to buy power or skill to make you "better" than another gamer out there -- your character just looks different. That's what makes them more appealing than other games, which might let players buy weapons or armor that physically augment a character to make them stronger or more deadly on the battlefield.

What can you buy with V-Bucks and Apex Coins?

Some of the gun skins you can buy in Apex Legends. Todd Haselton | CNBC

In Apex Legends, you can buy different skins for your guns, which means they look different but perform just the same as any gun anyone else can get. You can also buy Apex Packs, which cost 100 Coins each and give you a chance at getting "legendary," "rare" or "epic" items that can't be bought on their own.

One of several characters to pick from in Apex Legends. Todd Haselton | CNBC

In Fortnite, you can buy different parachutes that drop your character onto the battlefield. You can also buy different character costumes and different axes, which you use to chop wood for resources. These can also be earned by playing the game, so you don't always have to pay for stuff. You buy all of this stuff with Fortnite Bucks. Finally, both games have a subscription pass called a "Battle Pass." This gives you access to a seasonal system of items. Fortnite's Battle Pass costs 950 V-Bucks, or just under $10 in real money. Apex Legends, at the time of publication, hadn't announced the price of its pass yet, but it's coming soon.

Will Apex make a lot of money like Fortnite?

I need to find a weapon. Todd Haselton | CNBC