A vast new sweep of information regarding the future of Apex Legends has been revealed, via an early press and influencer briefing we attended last week. Alongside multiple reveals regarding Season 14 and significant changes to Kings Canyon, we’ve learnt more about Respawn’s long term goals via a Q&A – including info on cross progression, ranked changes, and in-game gifting.
These further out additions haven’t got any date attributed to them yet, instead being tinkered with in the background. According to senior game designer Eric Canavese: “We are actively working on gifting to other players right now, but we want to make sure it’s something people enjoy, something that doesn’t feel grindy”.
On Cross Progression, Evan stated: “We’re actively working on cross progression, but there’s no release date on it. The game wasn’t built with it in mind, which makes it complicated. But I hear you, and I want cross progression too. It’s something we’re definitely working on – we want it sooner than later.”
With that in mind, don’t let all these long term goals get in the way of what’s coming just around the corner! King’s Canyon is getting a significant makeover with a giant new POI called Relic landing in the devastated land where Loba caused a big explosion. This giant skull is a great place for close quarters combat, and helps flesh out what was a relatively dull area.
In addition, the Cage POI been changed so fights resolve quicker. Hillside – a non POI but popular battleground nonetheless – has been remixed to be less defensible with interior spaces removed. Broken Relay has been twisted up too, with extra buildings added to make the area more interesting. It has a new name to reflect the makeover too: Basin. All this comes with a new skybox that makes the map more vibrant, which will hopefully subconsciously make the experience a bit more fun.
If you’re a dedicated Apex fan, you’ll have an increased level cap to power through. In addition, more ranked changes are on the way – there’s no set time for that as of right now, but rest assured they are on the way.
As for what’s not coming, we asked whether additional support is coming to the anti-cheat team following recent frustrations being aired by pro players with the current system. Evan Canavese didn’t state any additional support was on the way, instead emphasising: “We hate cheating as much as everyone else – it’s a tricky problem and we don’t want to show our hand. Our anti-cheat process is a constant work in progress, at the top of our radar, but it’s a complex problem. We’re not sure we’ll ever stomp it out, but we’ll try as hard as we can.”
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In addition, PvE content will not ever be coming to Apex Legends. Evan stated that if any PvE content came from Respawn it would be “through other products”. It’s worth noting that recent Linkedin job listings have hinted towards new games in the Apex Legends universe, with one listing specifically asking for applicants with single player development experience (Check out Comicbook.com’s great writeup on this for more info).
Finally it seems like Control will not be a permanent role, at least not for now. This comes from gameplay engineer Chris Winder, who said in response to a question on the mode that Control won’t be permanent, but he wouldn’t say “it’ll never happen”.
What are your thoughts on all this new Apex Legends information? Let us know below! For more Apex Legends news, check out the recent Vantage reveal trailer, as well as Respawn accidentally revealing the character last month.