Apex Legends has been one of the most popular games of 2019 and continues to be successful more than a year after launch. We'd say a mobile port seems likely, but in fact, publisher EA has directly confirmed that Apex Legends is coming to mobile at some point in the future.
In late 2019, EA confirmed that Apex Legends Mobile could be released towards the end of 2020. That release date has now been pushed back even further, but EA said development is underway and it's coming to mobile in late 2019.
The most popular multiplayer games have undergone big changes when they were brought to mobile devices. PUBG Mobile has a changed map and added AI players compared to the main game, and Call of Duty: Mobile is its own separate entity based on maps and weapons from the popular series. Therefore, It's unclear if Apex Legends Mobile will be a faithful port of the online battle royale game or if it will be different in any way. We also don't know what it will be called, although "Apex Legends Mobile" seems like the most obvious choice. Also, we don't know if the developers will opt to use the "standard" controls used by shooters on mobile phones, or possibly test new features like Call of Duty: Mobile did with its automatic sights.
To help you understand what Apex Legends Mobile will look like before its launch, we've put together everything you need to know along with a wish list of what we'd love to see in Apex Legends Mobile.
Come to the point
- What is it? A mobile port of the famous Battle Royale game.
- When did it come out? 2021, or maybe later
- How much will it cost? Probably, and hopefully, nothing
Apex Legends Mobile release date and price
Apex Legends Mobile (Image credit: Respawn Entertainment)
Let's start with the price - we would really expect Apex Legends Mobile to be free.
Apex Legends was a free download on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, with the option to buy cosmetics on the side, so it would be strange if it was different for a mobile port. Also, most of the similar mobile ports, like Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty: Mobile are free, with micro transactions instead of paying upfront, so to stay competitive, Apex Legends Mobile will probably want to do the same. .
Apex Legends Mobile release date is unclear at this time, but the latest from EA says it will arrive sometime after April 1, 2021. EA's CEO has also said that this could be later than that. Previously, we expected the game to be available by the end of 2020, but it seems that it has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Here's a post from June 2020 that said we're expecting it by the end of this year.
It's here. EA CEO talks about bringing Apex Legends on iOS and Android to the world by the end of this year. Follow @ApexLatest for more exclusives. # Apexlegendsmobile @EA @EAMobile @Respawn @apex_intel @TitanfallBlog @TencentGames @ZhugeEX pic.twitter.com/zIMhDEIwaH June 22th, 2020
So an Apex Legends Mobile release date might be one way, and while we might be surprised at an earlier version, it's probably best not to wait.Apex Legends Mobile: What we want to see
These are some of the Apex Legends Mobile features that we would like to see, including changes (or lack thereof) to the base game and how it would work on a mobile phone.1. Cross-play for mobile devices
It's an easy task and we hope you can do it when it launches. We would like Apex Legends Mobile to support cross-play, but only on mobile devices. It wouldn't be fair to compete with those on console or PC, but it would be great if Android players could mix in the same matches as iOS players. This is especially the case since the people you want to meet and play online with may have different devices.2. Supports 120Hz on all devices
Mobile Fortnite (Image credit: Epic Games)
Fortnite Mobile is capable of running at 120Hz on the iPad Pro, but that's it for now and we'd love to see Apex go beyond that for its mobile iteration.
With many high-end mobile devices now boasting a 120Hz frame rate, we hope that it will soon become the norm in games like Apex Legends, at least for the phones that can support it. This is unlikely to happen at launch, but it would be a huge plus and would make gameplay even smoother than other mobile titles.
3. A reworked map
We don't want to say goodbye to Kings Canyon, but it may be a must for a mobile version of Apex. Getting through this map can be difficult in a short mobile game, so perhaps Respawn could work on a smaller map for this edition. It could still be a mobile version of Kings Canyon, but given the time it takes to travel from one side of the map to the other, it can be a difficult thing to do in the Kings Canyon or World's Edge we know and love.4. Easy to download
This is another simple one; we want Apex Legends Mobile to be easy to download and install on your phone. Epic Games decided not to host their version of Fortnite Mobile on the Google Play Store at launch, so they had to indirectly download it with an APK and that was a bit of a pain. We'd love to see EA make a great song and dance to their Apex Legends mobile release, and releasing it on the App Store and Google's alternative would be a great way to go.5. A single player mode
Apex Legends Mobile (Image credit: Respawn Entertainment)
Mobile connectivity can be unreliable at best, so maybe it's time to have an Apex Legends single player mode on the mobile title so you don't have to rely on those logging on. Around you. By that we mean we'd love to see you play as a one-man team, so your game plans aren't messed up if another player goes offline (in fact, it could be to your advantage).
It won't be as much fun as teamwork, but it can be a good addition for those with less connectivity or those who want to avoid working with others.
6. Support for plug-and-play controllers
(Image credit: future)
Plug-and-play controllers are great ways to play mobile games because they mimic the console controller experience and keep you from getting addicted to the often tedious on-screen controls.
However, some games like Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty: Mobile don't work on all of them - we recently tested the Razer Kishi and these games weren't supported so we couldn't use them on them.
We would like to see Apex Legends Mobile launch with a custom control scheme for mobile gamepads, so we have the option to use controllers if we want.
7. An offline mode
Apex Legends (Image credit: Respawn Entertainment
Sometimes you just can't log in to play, and we'd like Apex Legends to have an offline mode so we can enjoy the experience without being connected to the internet.
One option for this is to choose the main version's story mode, which allows you to play linear levels with teams and enemies selected based on areas of the map. These are short, but a fun alternative to online battle royale. Another option is to offer a version of the battle royale game where you only play against AI opponents. Sure, the AI should be pretty good so you don't feel like you're fighting lifeless robots (because that wouldn't be fun), but it could be a good training mode for actual gameplay.
8. Variable frame rate and other battery characteristics
(Image credit: future)
Mobile gaming can drain battery power considerably, but there are some titles that have ways to alleviate this problem to some degree, and we'd love to see Apex Legends bring that into play. For example, Old School RuneScape allows you to set a frame rate cap if you want, which reduces battery drain (and makes the game easier to play on older phones), and would work well here for people who don't have 120hz phones as mentioned above.
A good optimization of the game would also prevent it from consuming as much power, and perhaps shorter match lengths as well, so that each individual does not reduce the battery life of their phone so much.