Respawn Entertainment
Latest
'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' trailer teases new story details
After providing an extended gameplay look at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order earlier this year, EA and Respawn have released a new story-focused trailer for their upcoming action-adventure game. The trailer opens with Cal Kestis, the game's protagonist, escaping from Second Sister, one of the Imperial Inquisitors tasked with hunting down the last of the Jedi. Cal is saved by Cere Junda, a Jedi Knight in hiding.
‘Apex Legends’ Season 3 launches with a new hero on October 1st
It's official: Season 3 of Apex Legends will start on October 1st. Included in the update is Crypto, Apex's newest playable character; an all-new battle pass with more than 100 in-game items; the new charge rifle weapon; and a tweaked ranked mode. Developer Respawn Entertainment says it will reveal additional new features in the week-and-a-half leadup to the launch of the new season.
'Apex Legends' teases its newest playable character with in-game cameo
In one of the more elaborate and novel teasers for a new playable character in an online game, you can already see Apex Legends' newest star. You just can't play him. Over the last few days, players have spotted Crypto, Apex's long-rumored hacker character, in the game's King's Canyon area. He'll be in a lab hacking a computer. When he spots the player, he makes a dash for it.
'Apex Legends' Iron Crown event goes live with solo mode
Apex Legends fans have two weeks to take part in new challenges, including venturing out to King's Canyon on their own. The Iron Collection Crown event and temporary Solos mode has gone live, with this trial run set to end on August 27th.
'Apex Legends' gets a limited-time solo mode next week
Since Apex Legends burst onto the battle royale scene in February, there's been an ever-present request near the top of players' wishlists: a single-player mode. Until now, matches have taken place entirely in teams of three, but for a limited time, you'll be able to drop into King's Canyon and rely purely on your own skill and abilities in search of a victory -- with no teammates to back you up.
EA's largest 'Apex Legends' tournament yet starts September 13th
EA and Respawn are stepping up their esports ambitions for Apex Legends. They've announced a Preseason Invitational that will represent the largest volume of talent amassed for a competitive Apex Legends event, with 80 teams of three (that's 240 people) competing for a $500,000 prize pool. The event takes place in Krakow, Poland between September 13th and September 15th and will use a double elimination format where teams have a shot at redemption until the final 20 teams strive for the top prize.
'Apex Legends' will pit cheaters against each other
Respawn may have a particularly poetic way to exact justice on Apex Legends cheaters: give them a taste of their own medicine. The studio has revealed that its anti-cheating efforts will include matchmaking between detected cheaters and spam accounts. Their aim bots and hacks won't be much fun if they're playing against similarly dirty competitors.
Respawn will share more about its 'AAA' VR shooter later this year
Back in 2017, Facebook and Respawn Entertainment revealed the developer was working on a virtual reality AAA shooter. While things have been fairly secretive since (so much so that it might have fallen off your radar), we'll hear more about it at this year's Oculus Connect, which is scheduled for September 25th to 26th in San Jose.
‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ is a delicate balance of light and dark
"Are you sure you want to plug into this thing?" Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan asks nervously. His partner, an adorable droid called BD-1, bleeps confidently and plugs into a nearby computer panel. Immediately, the enormous 'cutter' drill starts burrowing through the wicked Empire's base. The machine's movement reveals a secret passageway which Kestic then rushes toward enthusiastically. "That's why you wanted to move this thing," he exclaims. BD-1 boops again. "You had no idea that was there, did you?" Kestis chuckles wearily. "You just wanted to turn that cutter on."
Wattson is just what 'Apex Legends' needs
I don't remember the last time a video game had me as hooked as Apex Legends does. And when I say "hooked," I mean that I'm staying up until 4 or 5AM playing on weekdays, which probably isn't the best idea for someone with a full-time job who has no aspirations to be a professional Twitch streamer. But, as much as I love Apex, my one complaint is that developer Respawn Entertainment doesn't keep the game feeling fresh. The last time we got a new character, for instance, was back in March with that speedy dude Octane. Thankfully, at E3 2019, Respawn revealed a new Legend named Natalie "Wattson" Paquette, who is part of the Season 2 Battle Pass that will launch on July 2nd.
'Apex Legends' second season debuts July 2nd with an engineer character
There's finally some concrete details about the second season of Apex Legends, and it's heartening news if you're either a defensive player or particularly competitive. The next phase of the game will add Wattson, an engineer character who thrives on defensive play. She can set up energy fences to guard must-have territory, and unleash an ultimate ability that shoots down airborne projectiles like bombardments and arc stars.
Watch 14 minutes of 'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' gameplay
Respawn and EA have finally shown what it's like to play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and it's what you'd expect -- with a few twists. They've posted a 14-minute gameplay clip showing hero Cal Kestis as he supports early rebels tries to survive both the Empire and a hostile environment. Respawn's experience with Titanfall is on full display here with wall running, double-jumps ("Force flips") and similar acrobatics, but it's also clear the company is embracing and expanding the Star Wars mythos. Even in his rough state, Cal is skilled with a lightsaber and can wield Force powers to knock enemies down, toss his saber and even slow down environmental hazards or blaster fire.
'Apex Legends' will keep players busy with daily and weekly challenges
Respawn has a straightforward way to keep its hordes of Apex Legends players coming back: it's borrowing a page from other battle royale shooters. The studio has teased Season 2 Battle Pass plans that will include daily and weekly challenges to speed up your progression. While there aren't specifics of what they'll entail, Respawn is trying to avoid "wacky" challenges that force you to play in odd ways. And don't panic if you have to skip Apex while on vacation -- you can finish earlier weekly challenges when you get back.
Respawn will ban 'Apex Legends' players who mooch on their teams
Ever dealt with a teammate in an online game who was clearly there just to leech on your success? You might not have to in Apex Legends. As part of a broader update on its plans, Respawn has warned that it will issue temporary bans to players who piggyback -- that is, mooch off the success of their teammates without participating in matches. The policy won't take effect right away, but it could result in permanent bans in "extreme cases."
'Apex Legends' is coming to mobile devices
How will Respawn and EA keep Apex Legends' momentum going? Do what Epic did, apparently -- bring the game to phones and tablets. As part of a call discussing its latest quarterly earnings, EA said it would release versions of the Titanfall-based battle royale title for mobile devices. There weren't specifics about platforms or release dates, but it's safe to say Android and iOS have made the short list.
'Apex Legends' update makes its big boys harder to kill
Respawn technically addressed the overly large hitboxes of some Apex Legends characters with a recent update, but that didn't work as well as expected. The developer has a simple solution, though: make those beefier characters harder to kill. A version 1.1.1 update to the game has bestowed Gibraltar and Caustic with a "Fortified" perk that reduces incoming damage by 10 percent. Gibraltar's Gun Shield is slightly stronger, too. While neither change is enough to throw caution to the wind, you might be more inclined to play if you can better serve as your team's bullet sponge.
Respawn's 'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' arrives November 15th
Respawn has pulled back the curtains on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order after months of teases. The single-player game is now due to launch on November 15th and follows Cal Kestis, a Padawan trying to survive Emperor Palpatine's command to execute the Jedi -- including the Inquisitors hunting the last remnants of the once-great order. He starts as a scrapper trying to keep his head down, but he's invariably roped into a larger story and learns to embrace his Force powers instead of keeping them suppressed.
'Apex Legends' fix restores the progression you lost
If you fired up Apex Legends after the 1.1 patch on April 2nd only to panic as all your progression was nowhere to be seen, don't panic -- it's back. Respawn has fixed a mistake on its end that moved players to servers that didn't have their persistence, making it look as if all their progress had been erased. Everything you did up until the moment 1.1 went live should be intact, and any currency will revert back to the pre-fix state.
EA reportedly paid Ninja $1 million to stream 'Apex Legends'
It's no secret that EA paid top streamers to promote (and to some extent, influence) Apex Legends, but how much did those streamers make? In one case, it might have been quite a lot. A Reuters source claimed that EA paid Ninja (aka Tyler Blevins) a cool $1 million to play the game on February 5th. He might not have been obligated to play for long, either. An EA spokesperson told Kotaku that any streamed gameplay after "midday" on February 5th was "completely organic" -- that is, they wanted to keep playing.
‘Apex Legends’ update attempts to balance its most powerful weapons
It's the stuff of nightmares. You're looted out of your mind, there are only two squads left standing, and you get double-tapped from the other side of the world by a Wingman-wielding Pathfinder. Well, you can sleep soundly now sweet Lifeline, because the first Apex Legends balance patch has dropped and the inevitable has occurred: The Wingman's been nerfed. Specifically, the pistol's maximum rate of fire has been reduced, and the Skullpiercer attachment doesn't increase headshot damage by quite the same degree anymore. Also, when firing wildly from the hip in moments of sheer panic, the Wingman is less accurate and bullet spread takes longer to settle after your frantic volley (assuming you won the firefight in the first place).
