MeinMMO spoke with the heads of Apex Legends about the major changes in Season 16. We talked about the previous development of the hero shooter and what the developers aim for the future of the shooter.
On February 14, 2023, the new Season 16 “Festivity” starts in Apex Legends, which is all about the 4th anniversary of the hero shooter and offers players major innovations in the game. These include:
- Redesigned legend classes
- Limited-time mode “Team Deathmatch”
- New weapon: Nemesis
- New orientation games for beginners
MeinMMO spoke with two of the heads of the shooter and inquired about the current development as well as the future of Apex Legends. The interview partners were:
- Steven Ferreira – Game Director
- Evan Nikolich – Design Director
Apex Legends is having a big birthday party
MeinMMO: Apex Legends is celebrating its fourth birthday and has changed significantly over the years. What milestones that the game has reached over time are you particularly proud of?
Steven Ferreira: I think what I am most proud of is that the game is still as exciting and successful as it is today. It is not easy to create a game that is this big and has so many players who play every day and are still as engaged and passionate as they are. And I think that comes down to several aspects.
First of all, we have not shied away from trying new things. As you said, the game has changed a lot over the years, and we have experimented a lot in the last four years.
And that is really at the core of our game development: We have an idea. Let’s try it out. We don’t have a beta environment; we don’t have many ways to test a feature specifically before it goes live. We build something and think about how it will affect live play. And we test it in live play and learn from it.
It has been a process of learning, experimenting, learning more, and also staying true to what Apex is, and not trying to make a game that satisfies everyone. I think that is what I am most proud of. The current state is quite an achievement that I am very proud of.
MeinMMO: […] Would you name a few examples of how exactly Apex Legends as a game and the community have changed over the years?
Steven Ferreira: This season is a great example of one of the big changes we have made in the past, but just amplified. Because in the last 4 years, the game has gotten bigger; we have brought more and more content into the game, more legends, more weapons, more maps, more modes.
And as we just talked about: That means it has become increasingly difficult for players to get into Apex. Simply because there is so much to do. You jump into the game, and there are 23 legends to learn and all these maps and all these different modes. Where should one even start?
If you look back at this content now and ask yourself how we can further advance and evolve Apex, and how we can raise the bar for competitive players within Apex who have been around for four years.
That’s what you see in the changes to our class system. That’s what you see in the fact that we are reworking so many legends, optimizing the way you play them, so they fit into the new class system.
But we are also looking at our onboarding experience. And how we get players into the game and make them feel like they have the same path as the players did four years ago. This season illustrates the aspects I have talked about very, very well.
Here you can see the gameplay trailer for Revelry with a look at the upcoming content:
Why not only newcomers benefit from the changes
MeinMMO: Yes, I think so too, especially regarding new players. But do you also believe that old players benefit from the new changes?
Evan Nikolich: When I joined the franchise over a year ago and spoke with the team, that was a big thing: we are creating all this content, new legends, new maps, new, new, new. But we have learned so much from the existing legends and existing content.
Why can’t we further develop them? We should actually do that. We should actually take a break from new legends and focus on the evolution of the legends, also on the development of our onboarding, the evolution of our firing range, the development of some of our progression systems.
So that is what we have really focused on: We have learned a lot from our players over the years; we have learned a lot about how they play when we are now trying to incorporate dynamics that add more newness, more variety. The big thing is, we want squad composition at the higher skill level to really matter.
At the lower level, you should become good at moving and shooting. At the higher level, you should really think: Do I have a recon, do I have a controller, do I have a skirmisher, what is a good composition?
So we are really trying to create more variety for the returning player and develop strategies and get out of the established routine.
MeinMMO: And if you compare Apex Legends with other shooters or the shooter genre in 2023 overall how would you say Apex Legends fits in, how would you describe it? What is the identity of the game?
Evan Nikolich: Apex Legends aims to be a high-skill competitive shooter. So when I say high-skill, I mean: we have a great combination of focusing on movement, mobility, but also on the core of gunplay when you can aim, shoot, and track.
We focus on creating systems that add a lot of depth and create the desire to learn, to become good, and also to work well with others to build really good, strong team play.
So we try to create an enduring hobby that people play like other games such as Counter-Strike or League of Legends or even like a sport like soccer or basketball because it’s fun. Because as a hobby, you want to share it with friends and perhaps also with your children.
In contrast, I would say Fortnite, which is evolving more towards a metaverse, towards a party that seems more inclusive, than a place where one can hang out, and does not focus so much on the competition and the sport we are creating here with Apex.
This is what Apex Legends should become in 20 years
MeinMMO: What do you hope for the future of Apex Legends and its community? Do you have something you are working on that you can give us a little hint about? Or do you have something you personally wish for the game?
Evan Nikolich: We want to develop the game as a sport. As I said, an enduring hobby.
And so comes what I call garden maintenance: we take our existing game, ensure it is healthy, add new plants, pull weeds, prune trees, and want to be something that can be passed on to your children and friends.
I am already looking forward to the coming years in which Apex will continue to exist. We have already been around for four years. So there are probably kids who said in college: “I want to make games” while they have been playing Apex for four years and then graduated and joined our team.
We actually have a few. We have an intern starting in a few months who has played a lot of Apex. And it’s like an injection of new blood, but from a perspective of: “I really understand this game as a hobby and not as the place where we came from, where we started from scratch”. We are growing as a community, but also as developers, as our team has changed over time.
Steven Ferreira: I completely agree with what Evan just said, and I think I would add that we have created a fantastic universe in which we can really tell great stories and give players the opportunity to experience very engaging fantasies that I really enjoy today.
In the future, in 20 years, I want us to be like Marvel. I want people to think of our legends like they do with their favorite superheroes in the Marvel universe, and how they can change and evolve over time, but the core that makes it resonate with people, the authenticity, the optimistic message, the core of what Apex is as an experience. That will hopefully resonate with people for many years to come, with the next generation of players.
We thank Steven Ferreira and Evan Nikolich for the interview and wish them continued success in the development of Apex Legends.
Also in the last season, when Apex Legends introduced the new legend Catalyst into the game, MeinMMO spoke with the developer team: Apex Legends: We spoke with the developers about Catalyst and their abilities – Why they are stronger than you thought
