Apex Legends fans are split over the future of the game after Respawn’s recently revealed plans to support the battle royale for ’10 to 15 years.’
Recent statements from Respawn about long-term support for Apex Legends have some players divided on the future of the popular battle royale. Since the game first launched in 2019, the battle royale from Respawn and EA has become one of the most popular games in its genre. Several new Legends have been added to the game since its debut alongside a variety of new maps, game modes, and weapons with its many competitive seasons. Now, however, fans are conflicted about the long-term future of the game.
Discussion over the future of the game comes after Respawn recently announced it would be opening a new studio to support the development of Apex Legends. The studio, which opened in Madison, Wisconsin, would serve as the third branch of the game developer with an initial focus on assisting with Apex Legends. During interviews conducted following the announcement, Apex Legends director Steven Ferreira made the bold claim that Respawn intends for the BR to be around for “more than 10 or 15 years.” However, fan reactions have been divisive, based on the current state of the game.
Respawn’s announcement has seen multiple fans on Reddit speaking out about the current state of Apex Legends regarding the proposed future plans. Players have complained about several issues plaguing the game from rubber banding latency issues to erroneous disconnects and leaver penalties. Matchmaking and the game’s Ranked system have also been the subject of criticism from fans, with cheating becoming a rampant problem in Apex Legends.
Apex Legends‘ proposed long-term goals come as the game has hit several rocky patches throughout recent months with its development. Respawn announced earlier this year that Apex Legends Mobile would be shutting down in May, just over a year after the mobile version launched. Layoffs have also plagued the game’s development with EA revealing it would be shedding 200 members of a Louisiana-based QA testing team last month. Despite these downturns for the game, Respawn expressed optimism for the game’s future with “more ways for players to play” reportedly a priority.
While fans of Apex Legends are critical of the future plans for the game, Respawn has made efforts in the game’s ongoing Season 16 to address several prominent issues. Respawn rolled out a number of bug fixes for Apex Legends‘ Ranked mode in Season 16, including bugs related to RP loss and improper demotions. Respawn also introduced changes to the map rotation for Apex Legends‘ Ranked mode, featuring more even splits between different maps. Respawn’s recent statements and changes to Apex Legends show the developer is committed to the game for the long haul.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
