The battle royale shooter Apex Legends is coming soon to Switch and Steam. There will also be crossplay. But how does that look in reality and how are consoles protected from PC players and their advantages? The developers answered these and other questions in an exclusive interview.
What were the backgrounds of the interview? I, Jürgen Horn, the Apex expert at MeinMMO, had the pleasure of interviewing the two developers Chad Grenier (Game Director) and Jason McCord (Lead Designer) from Respawn Entertainment.
The discussion focused on general questions about Season 5 and the new legend Loba and also about the latest information regarding the upcoming releases of Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
Especially the topic of fair crossplay and cross-progression was important to me, and I received some useful answers on that.
This is how crossplay and -progression will work on PC, Switch, Xbox One, and PS4
In this section of the interview, the focus is mainly on the planned versions for the Nintendo Switch and how the crossplay works.
Also, cross-progression, which means the progress that can be carried over from one platform to another, is an important topic. And the question of how to prevent PC players with their technical advantages from dominating the lobby in crossplay is also answered here.
MeinMMO: Let’s get to the news from EA Play. Apex Legends is coming to Switch. How will that affect gameplay? Will there be limitations or downgrades due to the hardware?
Respawn: Our hope is that we can bring the game to Switch without major restrictions, just like we did when transitioning from PC to consoles. There isn’t a big difference, except for the controls. It’s the same game. That’s what we want to achieve with the Switch as well. But there will be a few changes; for example, we want to support gyroscopic aiming on the Switch.
That is really great! And we want to ensure that Apex still runs well when the Switch is used as a handheld, for example, that everything can still be read and recognized on the small screen. Otherwise, it will be the same game, even with crossplay. We want to ensure that you can enjoy Apex on all platforms.
MeinMMO: Okay, that’s good to know. What about Steam? Is there any advantage, other than my Steam friends list, when I switch from Origin to Steam?
Respawn: In fact, no, there are – apart from the feature you mentioned with the friends list – no advantages. It’s the same game, just on a different platform. And thanks to crossplay, you can also play with your Steam friends on Origin.
MeinMMO: You mentioned crossplay already, but what about cross-progression? Can I play on Origins, then on Steam, and in the evening on Switch? All on the same account with progress that will be transferred?
Respawn: Currently, we do not support cross-progression. We have discussed it, but it’s not on the table at the moment.
MeinMMO: Also between Steam and Origin? They are both on PC?
Respawn: Yes, that’s not possible either; they are two different platforms.
MeinMMO: Back to crossplay: How do you ensure that it doesn’t become unfair when a PC player with mouse and keyboard competes against controller players on consoles?
Respawn: Firstly, console players do not have to worry about being paired with PC players. They do not play on the same server. But you can team up with a PC player and then you will be playing on the PC server.
Because you wanted it that way. Then it’s okay. We certainly won’t throw PC players into the console playlist. That wouldn’t be a good way to implement crossplay.
MeinMMO: The consoles Xbox and Playstation will share a server in the future?
Respawn: Yes, we will combine the two consoles into one pool. They do not have inherent advantages over each other, and this way we increase the matchmaking pool. This way we have more players for a match and reduced waiting times, especially in higher-ranked matches where there are not as many players.
MeinMMO: Will the Switch then be in the console pool or does it have its own server?
Respawn: We are not yet sure how that will work. We need to wait for the initial tests and betas. There will certainly be some adjustments.
MeinMMO: Okay, when Apex Legends was announced for 5 platforms, I actually thought the 5th platform would be Stadia and not Steam. Now it’s Steam, but are there plans for Apex Legends to come to Stadia as well?
Respawn: Anything is possible. We want to bring Apex Legends wherever it can reach many players. Stadia sounds good. But for now, we have nothing to announce. However, anything is possible.
Facts about Season 5, Loba, new skins, and the story
After discussing the future of Apex, I asked the developers for some information about the current Season 5 and how it has gone so far.
MeinMMO: How has the feedback been so far for Season 5?
Respawn: Season 5 has had a great start. And this, despite being our first season that we had to launch from home, due to Covid-19. But everything went super, players are satisfied, player numbers are rising, both new players and existing fans, our return rate is also higher. You know, we always build our season on the previous one, and that has happened here too. Everything has improved, and we are proud of that.
MeinMMO: Would you like to share some numbers? How many players do you have? What is the percentage of returners?
Respawn: Unfortunately, we do not share such numbers. But there is a steady increase. Our game is currently in a healthy state. And when we look at our key metrics, we see a consistent rise.
MeinMMO: As in every season, there was a new legend, this time Loba. How has she been received by players? Was she a success? Does she need nerfs or buffs perhaps?
Respawn: I think she has been well received. She is currently in a reasonably well-balanced state. In the last patch, we actually did not have to change her much. Just a few minor adjustments. But we are mostly satisfied with how she is right now. However, she has barely appeared in tournaments so far; we’ll see what’s needed.
MeinMMO: What was new in Season 5: These PvE co-op missions for the quest “The Broken Ghost.” How has that been received?
Respawn: That has been going very well so far. Especially the episodic storytelling approach where players log in each week for a new “episode.” It’s really fun. This quest was also an experiment for us. We saw it in other games and wanted to try it out too. By telling a story and combining it all with the treasure hunt.
MeinMMO: Yes, you are really pioneers in battle royale storytelling; hardly any other game has focused so much on storytelling so far. I assume you will do this every season?
Respawn: I am not sure about that. We do not want to make any commitments, but we are looking at all possibilities. Everything is possible.
MeinMMO: Another highlight of Apex Legends is your legends and the often very beautiful skins; recently there were again new ones from the Lost Treasures event. How do you come up with ideas for new skins?
Respawn: We usually have a theme as a template. This time, in “Fortunes Favour,” it was a treasure hunt. So things that are dug up. We also had this in the map changes, the newly dug bunkers or the destruction and salvage of Skull Town. So we told the artist team, “The theme is treasure hunting; what fits together? It’s about things that are excavated. So also about explorers.”
And then the artists kicked off, saying, “Explorers, so also something like pirates?” And so the brainstorming continued, and the artists soon started drawing, and in the end, we had a lot of wonderful ideas and concepts.
MeinMMO: So you often have more sketches and ideas than you can turn into skins?
Respawn: Oh yes! They often have far more than we can implement.
MeinMMO: What was your favorite skin so far?
Respawn (Jason): Overall, it was the butler skin for Pathfinder from the Soiree event. The one with the mustache. That was genius!
MeinMMO: Okay, I thought that one was awesome too. Last question: Do you have a little teaser for the next season or even the new legend?
Respawn: Ha ha, nice try! That was really a nice try, Jürgen; it was worth the effort.
MeinMMO: All right. Thank you for the nice conversation.
Respawn: Thank you very much.
So much for the interview with the Apex developers. If there are any further updates on the topics mentioned here, we will present them to you here.
More exciting information on Apex Legends and Season 5 – for example, why the new legend Loba is cool, but in my opinion her exaggerated sexiness breaks the style of the game, you can find out here.
