Battle royale Apex Legends gets surprise launch from Respawn

Respawn Entertainment is best known for their Titanfall franchise, of which I am also a big fan, but have recently decided they also want to dip their toes into the incredibly popular “Battle Royale” genre of video games that has taken the world by storm over the last couple of years. Apex Legends was released today and is now available for free on PS4, Xbox One, and PC and is said to be a part of the developer’s Titanfall universe.

In a smart marketing move, Respawn decided to take advantage of some recently released leeks about the upcoming game by releasing a steady stream of their own retweets from popular influencers and Youtube stars who mentioned their experience with playing the new “AAA” title from Respawn.

The news and official release were confirmed today via a live stream, which you can view here.

Apex Legends will set 20 teams of three players against each other on one large map. As with most battle royale games you and your squad start each match off with no weapons or items and will instead have to find these during gameplay to utilise.

One of the key differences that will set Apex Legends apart from the pack is that each character has their own key role to play within your squad and as a result has their own varying special abilities, and yes this will also include ultimate abilities. This will no doubt help to ensure that squads work closely together as a team, rather than going lone wolf. Currently, there are 8 different legends (characters) at launch, with Respawn stating more will be added over time.

With the field becoming more crowded every month, it remains to be seen just how much longevity Apex Legends will have in the already overcrowded battle royale genre.

Are you interested in trying out Apex Legends? Or were you hopeful for an announcement of more information on Titanfall 3?