After spending a few years as one of the premiere battle royale titles, Respawn has confirmed that Apex Legends will be dropping in on mobile devices. Mobile battle royales are very popular and are often great sources of revenue, so it’s only natural that Respawn would seek to emulate that success by putting Apex Legends on mobile.
Details are light regarding Apex Legends' mobile debut, but Respawn and EA’s announcement does provide some insight as to what this version might end up looking like. So far, the renowned title appears to be approaching its mobile expansion rather differently than its biggest competitor, Fortnite, but that may not necessarily be such a bad thing.
Apex Legends is a Completely New Game
Perhaps the most surprising piece of information to come out of Apex Legends Mobile’s announcement is that it isn’t a port of its existing counterpart. Rather, Respawn has assured players that this is a separate, new game that maintains Apex Legends’ core essence. However, being a distinct product from the original release also means the battle royale won't support cross-play with other consoles.
Apex Legends Mobile being a brand new game may come as a shock, especially after spending the past few years watching Fortnite implement cross-play across virtually every console, which undoubtedly only furthered its success. However, considering the rough launch of Apex Legends' Switch port earlier this year, it’s a move that makes sense; if the Switch version isn't ideal, there’s a solid chance most mobile phones probably needed some tweaks.
So Apex Legends for smartphones will be a new game, but what exactly does this entail? According to Respawn, the game will reportedly be made with touchscreens in mind, and will boast some “thoughtful optimizations” to ensure a smooth user experience. This idea of a different-yet-faithful adaptation is perhaps best seen in the highly-successful PUBG Mobile. While similar to its PC counterpart, the mobile version has a few key differences, such as an auto-loot feature when running by items, easier weapon-handling, and some exclusive modes not seen in other versions.
It's possible that similar changes could appear in Apex Legends Mobile, particularly when it comes to the game's movement. Apex Legends' movement is a common point of praise for the popular online shooter, and it'll be interesting to see if Respawn succeeds in making it feel just as smooth and intuitive on a touchscreen interface as it does while using a controller or a keyboard.
Beta Testing for Apex Legends Mobile
Respawn intends to kick things off with smaller-scale beta tests in India and the Philippines, but more regions will be invited to join over the course of this year. There’s no concrete dates regarding when Apex Legends Mobile or its beta will launch in other regions, but that’s probably a good thing. The industry has seen its fair share of games whose launches were marred by a general lack of polish. Cyberpunk 2077’s release demonstrated how a bad launch can lead to refunds, lower review scores, and a general loss of goodwill.
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Respawn is in any rush to get this game out the door. In addition to mobile development, the studio will surely be busy with maintenance of Apex Legends' Season 9. A slower rollout for Apex Legends Mobile seems like a good way to lighten the load for the development team, but also presents an opportunity for testers to give the developer some in-depth feedback to ensure the game is fully optimized for smartphones before it hits mobile storefronts across the globe.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding Apex Legends Mobile, many of which will likely be answered as the beta becomes available to more and more people. What is known seems to indicate that Respawn seems intent on not simply porting the game, but building a unique, yet familiar experience for players on mobile; only time will tell if the developer succeeds.
Apex Legends Mobile is currently in development