Respawn Entertainment is finally bringing Apex Legends to mobile devices, but not as you know it. Apex Legends Mobile is being built from the ground up and this means it's going to take a bit of time. Closed Regional Beta Testing is ongoing and the region is being expanded. Here's the latest on what this means...
LATEST - More Countries Added
Apex Mobile is now available in five more countries; Mexico, Egypt, Colombia, Peru and Turkey. There is still no news on a solid release date in major territories like the UK and Europe.
Closed Beta Testing Region Expanded
From the outside, it looks like progress is being made on Apex Legends Mobile at a decent pace. Earlier in the month, Respawn Entertainment announced that Apex Legends Mobile's closed beta test will be rolling out to five more countries across the world.
Here's the low-down on what Respawn Entertainment are saying about the new Apex Legends experience on the Google Play Store:
" Multiplayer squads, first-person and third-person shooter gameplay and innovative combat are waiting for you on the battlefield! Jump into intense combat where survival is the only thing that matters. Prove that you have what it takes to make it out alive.
" Fast-paced innovative combat with shorter matches and more exhilarating action! Squad up with two other players and combine your skill sets to create the ultimate team. Battle against 19 other squads in 60-person battle royale games."
Beta Test Gameplay Revealed
As you can see in the tweet below, Apex Legends Mobile is going to play a little differently than Apex Legends on PC and Consoles. It still features the core gameplay features, though, so don't worry too much!
Apex Legends Mobile is opting to follow PUBG Mobile's footsteps by making the majority of the game a third-person POV experience. However, when you want to ADS and make the most of that 2x-4x scope on your G7 Scout, you'll be able to actually ADS like you would on the standard version of the game.
Of course, it's not going to look as clean graphically either but we're hoping that this will be improved a little when the game starts to arrive in more Regions and when it is fully released. If you've played any mobile shooter before, the layout of the controls looks pretty standard. There's no word on controller handset support yet though...
Apex Legends Mobile Release Date
At the moment, we don't have a full release date for Apex Legends Mobile and we don't think we're going to have one for a long time.
This is because Respawn Entertainment are planning to start "steadily rolling out" Apex Legends Mobile in a series of Regional Beta tests and there's no timeline on when these will end and the "final product" will be ready.
We do know that the game will be free to play when it's released though.
" Like PC and console, Apex Legends Mobile is free-to-play and never includes paid items that grant a gameplay advantage. Apex Legends Mobile will feature its own Battle Passes, collectable cosmetics, and unlockables unique from those found in the PC and console versions of Apex Legends."
READ MORE: Apex Legends Legacy Update: Everything We Know About Season 9
Regional Beta Testing Starting
With this in mind, we know that the Regional Beta Testing is starting with a handful of players in India and The Philippines. These will be invite-only closed beta tests that will eventually develop and grow as the game's development continues.
It might be a little while before a broader beta reaches the wider gaming community, though, especially on iOS devices.
" As we continue with testing, we’ll expand the size of these tests, add new regions, and implement iOS support. When we’re ready to go broader, we’ll launch a page that allows you to pre-register for the game and sign up for news about the betas."
Cross-Play Details
This might be a concern to some of you, as players on Console and PC will almost definitely have an advantage over a lot of mobile users.
Thankfully, Respawn Entertainment are fully aware of this and they have confirmed that it will not feature crossplay in any capacity.
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" Because Apex Legends Mobile is being built especially for mobile, it won’t feature cross-play with the console or PC versions of Apex Legends."
This is great, but it also means that you won't be able to carry any of your Apex Legends cosmetics or stats over to Apex Legends Mobile when it releases.
Think of it like how COD Mobile is separate from Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, not like Fortnite's inter-connected array of platforms.
Designed Specifically For Touchscreen
Apex Legends Mobile has been designed specifically for mobile devices. This is something you've seen above a few times, but what does this actually mean?
At the moment, all we know is the following...
" Apex Legends Mobile is specially designed for touchscreens, with streamlined controls and thoughtful optimizations that result in the most advanced battle royale combat available on a phone."
We know this is a little basic, but this is an initial announcement so we're not expecting anything too in-depth just yet.