Apex Legends Set To Receive Cross-Play Next Week | Screen Rant
The free-to-play Battle Royale game Apex Legends is set to receive cross-play support next week, which will unite separate matchmaking pools. The addition comes hot with a bit of new content as the game is currently embracing Season 6 with tons of novelties introduced with the major update back in August.
Season 6 launched in Apex Legends more than a month ago bringing another new playable character to the roster. Machine gun-equipped technician Rampart joined the battle with a few new toys to spice the meta up. One of Rampart’s abilities allows her to build cover shields that provide the Legend and her teammates with efficient defensive measures. The character also bears a heavy machine gun affectionately named Sheila. The weapon is capable of unleashing a natural bullet hell over opponents when used as a sentry gun.
With millions of devoted players, Apex Legends is about to unite its audiences scattered across major platforms. Starting next week, October 6th, all the fans on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin (with Steam joining afterward) will be able to play together thanks to the first iteration of cross-play support. According to the official announcement, cross-play in Apex Legends will initially launch as a Beta. Despite that, the feature will be enabled by default, although at any given moment, players will be free to turn cross-play off in the options menu. That being said, the cross-play Beta will be fully functional serving as a testing ground for developers to collect data and determine if the feature works as intended. Additionally, players will have the option to add friends from any platform by simply searching for them in the game and inviting them to join the party.
While parties can consist of both console and PC players, matchmaking pools will stay separate as Respawn believes that different input methods should not interfere with each other. While PS4 and Xbox One owners will play together by default, PC players will stay within their ecosystem. However, if a party of friends consists of a PS4 player, an Xbox One owner, and a PC user, the unified crew will be put into the PC matchmaking pool. Sadly, there won’t be proper cross-progression unlike, for instance, Apex Legends’ direct competitor Call of Duty: Warzone. Devs do hope to enable unified progression at a later date, but for the time being, the feature is not being considered. Besides that, Respawn has a lot to do while supporting Apex Legends with new content. For instance, it is heavily rumored that the next map will be a tropical island.
While cross-play is undeniably the future of multiplayer online games, Respawn is being reasonably cautious with the feature. The development team is probably aware of the annoying cheating issue on PC while also acknowledging that different input methods should be considered. As such, the decision to keep the PC matchmaking pool separate is a well-thought-out one. The only true downside is the absence of cross-progression, although it is likely the matter of future updates for Apex Legends.
Apex Legends is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Apex Legends