For those infatuated with Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends, 2020 was likely seen as an incredibly positive year. The battle royale expanded quite a bit over the course of the year with new additions to the game including new legends such as Revenant and Loba, events like Lost Treasures and Aftermarket, and the popular new map Olympus. While these in-game additions seem to have been celebrated by players of Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment and EA made some other fairly major changes that will affect its performance in 2021.
Perhaps the largest decision that was made was making Apex Legends crossplay across PC, PS4, and Xbox One systems, allowing players to play with one another regardless of their platform of choice. While some console gamers have voiced their dismay at playing with mouse and keyboard PC players, others seem to enjoy having a larger pool of competitors on a regular basis. And as Apex Legends fans look to what 2021 has in store for the battle royale, this crossplay feature will become prominent in the form of two new versions of the game.
Switch and Mobile Versions
Respawn Entertainment announced that it would be bringing Apex Legends to the Nintendo Switch alongside its major crossplay announcement and was originally slated to release before the end of 2020. However, since that initial announcement, the developer remained relatively quiet about when players can expect the new version. Finally, it was confirmed by Respawn that the Switch version was being delayed into 2021 due to "unexpected new challenges" in 2020. While no further clarification has been provided on the new expected launch date, players can likely expect the Switch port to be coming in 2021.
Apex Legends fans looking to take the Apex Games on the go with them but don't want to lug around a Nintendo Switch will want to keep an eye out for the mobile version of the game. While not exactly a secret, Respawn Entertainment hasn't been exactly talkative about the mobile port like it has with the Switch version. That being said, it was confirmed in November of 2020 that the mobile version of Apex Legends is currently looking at a FY22 release, which could see the game releasing any time between October 2021 and September 2022. While it seems unlikely that the developer will manage to push it out before 2021 is over, there is definitely a chance.
New Legends
Players can likely expect many new characters to enter the fray in 2021. Apex Legends has set a precedent over the past couple of years of adding one new legend to the roster with every new season. While the exact seasonal release date of each individual legend that will release this year is currently unknown, players have been able to get a sort of "sneak peek" as to what Respawn Entertainment has up its sleeve.
Back in September, well-known dataminer Biast12 leaked an image that seemed to show seven characters are currently in the pipeline for future Apex Legends content. Among these seven was Horizon (the character released with Season 7) and Titanfall 2 character Ash, who previously appeared as part of the Broken Ghost questline. It seems that the majority of these characters will fit within the Assault or Recon classes, so players looking for a new Support main could be out of luck.
New Map
While there's currently no in-game hints as to a new map coming to Apex Legends any time soon, it seems likely that a fourth map will be added to the rotation. 2019 saw the addition of World's Edge and 2020 added Olympus to the game, it seems likely that 2021 will bring one more arena into the mix. However, considering both of these maps released late into the calendar year, players shouldn't expect anything major until September at the earliest.
A new map may be a far ways off, but that doesn't mean players shouldn't be on the lookout for map updates. Respawn has made it a habit of updating its current rotation of maps by creating new POI's often accompanied by a narrative focused trailer and explanation. One of the biggest examples of this was when Loba was added to the game, and story-driven trailer showed the iconic Skull Town from King's Canyon being wiped off the map in an explosion. So while the fourth map likely won't be until the end of 2021, interesting map updates seem to capable at any time.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with Switch and mobile versions currently in development.