Starting November 5th, all you’ll need is you and one friend for Apex Legends. The much-requested duo mode finally makes an appearance as a limited-time mode. Respawn didn’t say how long it’ll be for in their announcement yesterday, only that it was limited.
So far, Respawn has been unwilling to stray from its regular three-Legend mode outside of these limited-time events. When the solo mode was temporarily added during the Iron Crown Event in August, the developers said they were gathering feedback on whether to make it permanent or not. At the time, Respawn stressed, “healthy matchmaking across all modes is priority.”
It’s a stance that’s hard to argue against. Apex Legends was designed around three-person squads and how different Legends worked together within that framework. Plus, smooth matchmaking trumps everything else. I would love for solos or duos to become permanent, but not if it affects the near-instant matchmaking.
What’s next for Apex Legends?
Apex Legends’ future is only looking brighter. When EA announced the next Battlefield isn’t coming until 2021 during their recent quarterly earnings, they also announced Apex Legends would be their main shooter for 2020.
EA COO and CFO also likened Apex Legends to an “annual shooter franchise.”
“We view that as an annual shooter franchise effectively, and we’re trying to build that as a 10-year business … We’re very excited about the roadmap that the Respawn team has put in place.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see a traditional ‘Apex Legends 2.’ Instead, it’s likely significant content drops like the new map that released earlier this month or something similar to Fortnite’s Chapter 2.
After hitting 70 million total players, it’s easy to see why EA is leaning on Apex Legends in 2020 as they continue to work on the next Battlefield. Expect a whole lot more limited-time modes, special events, and bigger content drops in 2020.