Respawn just dropped a big ol’ bundle of news about its popular free-to-play Battle Royale shooter, Apex Legends, during a livestream event hosted by its parent company, EA.
The key bits:
- Apex is coming to the Nintendo Switch this fall. Playing Apex up until now has meant camping in front of a TV (or rigging up something on your phone from a cloud streaming service, which… in a game as twitchy and latency sensitive as Apex, isn’t ideal.) This will finally bring some mobility into the mix.
- Also coming this fall: crossplay! Up until this point, playing on PS4 meant playing solely with other PS4 players. Want to play with a buddy who only has an Xbox? Buy an Xbox. Once they fire up crossplay, however, Xbox, PS4, PC, and Switch players will be able to play together on the same servers. Specific details on how it’ll actually work are still a bit light, but it’s officially on the way.
- Previously only made available to PC players via EA’s Origins store, Apex will finally be making its way to Steam.
For the unfamiliar: Apex is a Battle Royale game of a similar vein to games like PUBG or Fortnite — but first person instead of third person, and without Fortnite’s love-it-or-hate-it building system. You squad up with one to two other players – each of you picking from an increasing roster of “Legends”, each with their own distinct abilities – and battle it out until only one team stands. It’s chaotic, fast-paced, controller-throwing fun. And it’s free! Like other titles in the genre, Respawn makes their money on virtual currencies, character/gun skins, and a premium Battle Pass system that lets you unlock bonus goodies as you progress.
Respawn also dropped a first look at an upcoming event they’re calling the “Lost Treasures Collection”. Landing June 23rd, it’ll bring new skins, a temporary new game mode (“Armed and Dangerous Evolved” — snipes/shotguns and Evo shields only), and new in-game locations (Crypto’s Map Room!) to the mix. Here’s that: