So far, the only way to enjoy Respawn Entertainment"s battle royale Apex Legends on the go has been to play it on a Nintendo Switch. However, that will change in the near future, as the company is getting close to pushing out the previously teased mobile edition, with a beta starting soon.
Aptly dubbed Apex Legends Mobile, the game will be a standalone affair compared to the PC and console versions that have been available so far. This means cross-play is not a possibility, and it"s unclear what sort of changes are being made to the scale of the maps and the 60-player rounds. The released screenshots show a very familiar graphics style nonetheless.
"This is a huge moment for our team," said Apex Legends game director Chad Grenier. "Two years ago we changed the landscape of the battle royale genre, and now we’re aiming to do it again on mobile."
The mobile version is designed from the ground up for touchscreens according to the developer, featuring "streamlined controls and thoughtful optimizations that result in the most advanced battle royale combat available on a phone." This version will be free-to-play just like its cousins on other platforms, and will not feature any gameplay altering microtransactions.
Starting this spring, the initial beta will roll out across India and the Philippines inviting only a "few thousand players" with Android devices. But as the year progresses, Respawn plans to gradually expand this across the world, and add iOS support. Pre-registrations will begin being available in the relevant regions before the beta rolls out.
As for the standard version, Respawn Entertainment today unveiled the next Legend, Valkrie, that will be reaching the 100 million players strong game as part of Season 9. The free update will land on May 4, also carrying a bow as a new weapon, an Olympus map overhaul, a new battle pass, and balance changes.