Apex Legends Mobile is launching in beta soon in limited tests before rolling out to more regions in 2021 – here’s our best knowledge of a release date.
Apex Legends continues to be a successful Battle Royale shooter over a year after its launch, expanding to PC and consoles, including recently to Nintendo Switch. Publisher EA has confirmed it’s also coming to phones: Apex Legends Mobile, as it will be called, will soon roll out in beta. In late 2019, EA initially confirmed that Apex Legends Mobile could be released around the end of 2020 – and while that release date was pushed back further, studio Respawn finally announced that beta tests will begin in Q2 2021 in certain regions and roll out globally. Most popular multiplayer games have seen big changes when they’ve been ported over to mobile. PUBG Mobile has a tweaked map and added AI players compared to the main game, and Call of Duty: Mobile is its own separate entity based on maps, weapons and guns from the popular series. Wild Rift adapted League of Legends to smartphones by shrinking its map and tweaking hero abilities for touchscreen controls. Respawn hasn’t clarified how Apex Legends will differ from the base game, but we expect them to explain later how it’s been adapted to preserve the battle royale shooter gameplay to smartphone screens. We also don’t know whether the developers will opt to use the ‘standard’ controls shooting games use on mobile phones, or possibly try out some new features like Call of Duty: Mobile did with its automatic aim-down-sights. To help you understand what Apex Legends Mobile is shaping up to be before its release, we’ve compiled everything you need to know as well as a wish-list of what we’d like to see in Apex Legends mobile. Let’s start with the price: Respawn has confirmed that Apex Legends Mobile is free to play, and will have a battle pass and other unlockable cosmetics. Apex Legends was a free download on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, with the option to buy cosmetics on the side; we expect the same to be true for Apex Legends Mobile. We do know that the game will get some cosmetics and extras that are exclusive to the mobile version. It’s unclear what kinds of in-game transactions beyond the battle pass you’ll find inside Apex Legends Mobile, however. In addition, most similar mobile ports like Fortnite, PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile are free, with micro-transactions instead of an up-front payment, so to stay competitive Apex Legends Mobile would probably want to do the same. The Apex Legends Mobile release date is still unclear, but EA originally said it’ll coming at some stage after April 1, 2021. Weeks after that projected starting point, Respawn announced the first Apex Legends Mobile beta tests would start with limited player groups ‘soon’ in India and the Philippines, and will come to more players and expand to more regions throughout 2021.
