In just over a year since it first began service, Apex Legends has evolved almost unrecognizably.
The battle royale, Respawn Entertainment’s experimental first foray into the genre, became an overnight success when it launched at the beginning of 2019, luring players in their millions to visit Kings Canyon to see what all the fuss was about. Such unprecedented success inevitably led to undesirable attention from cheaters, a problem which, combined with excessive bugs, caused huge setbacks to the rollout of new content and the subsequent mass exodus of discontented players.
The dust has long-since settled following a frantic first few months, of course, and with those aforementioned issues essentially eliminated, the studio has been able to pour resources into delivering expansive and regular new content. One major addition still missing, however, is crossplay.
The feature, which allows owners of competing consoles to play with and against each other online, has been lauded since its introduction to games like Fortnite and Rocket League for removing unnecessary barriers preventing friends and family from playing together, though remains noticeably absent from Respawn’s flagship title. So, what’s the holdup?
Unfortunately, the question remains unanswered, though the developer is keen to stress that it hasn’t forgotten about crossplay. Speaking to Game Informer (H/T, Comic Book) in a recent interview, Apex Legends GM Dusty Welch and game director Chad Grenier had the following to say:
I think on crossplay we see it’s something that is kind of expected in the industry and is important to a game like ours. Chad and I are obviously big fans of playing our game at work and in our free time — and we go home on a Friday or weekend and want to play with each other and we’re on different systems. On a personal level, yes, we’d love to do that and party up on the weekends. I think it’s an important thing to get to.
As for a potential ETA on when Apex Legends players can expect to see the game receive crossplay, neither Welch or Grenier are willing (or able) to say, though at the very least, it’s reassuring to know that Respawn still considers the option to be an integral component of online play, especially in the current climate.