Apex Legends cross platform support was one of the most frequently asked questions when the free-to-play shooter was released.
Between Apex Legends releasing on multiple platforms at once, the battle royale genre having previous form for offering cross platform multiplayer (see Fortnite) and it being very popular, everyone is eager to complete alongside friends regardless of their system of choice.
The good news is cross platform play for Apex Legends is happening – and it has an approximate arrival time. Here’s what we know so far.
Will Apex Legends have cross platform multiplayer?
The short answer is, yes – Apex Legends will be cross platform, and it’s happening in 2020.
In an interview with Eurogamer just before Apex Legends launched, Respawn explained cross platform multiplayer was in the works.
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This was updated with a reveal at EA Play 2020, confirming cross-platform play would be coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC and the newly arriving Switch version.
Cross-platform play will be arriving in the autumn, alongside the Switch version and release of Apex Legends on Steam.
Will Apex Legends offer cross progress or cross purchases?
Though Apex Legends cross platform play is on the cards, it’s likely your account and progress will still be restricted to each individual platform.
Talking to Eurogamer at launch, lead producer Drew McCoy explained: “Unfortunately we won’t ever be able to do cross-progress or cross-purchases, which is a bummer, but due to the way systems were set up early on we can’t reconcile it after the fact.”
What this means in practice is, your unlocks, purchases and stats will be restricted to each individual platform, so you cannot start on PS4 and then access the same account details on PC. So before you make any serious time or money investments with the game, make sure you pick the platform you’ll be happy with long term.
Apex Legends Season 5 is here! We explain how the new Treasure Packs work and how to complete the first couple of hunts, The First Piece and A Legend Falls, as well as offer an up-to-date Apex Legends characters and abilities list, our Apex Legends best guns recommendations, as well as a whopping list of Apex Legends tips and tricks. Meanwhile, read everything we know about Apex Legends cross platform support coming later this year.
How might Apex Legends cross platform play work?
With Apex Legends cross platform capability details thin on the ground, how exactly the feature could work is speculation – but other cross platform games might provide some ideas.
Fellow battle royale shooter Fortnite, which currently offers cross-platform multiplayer to all systems it’s available on – that’s between PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, iOS and Android – uses your Epic Account to see who else is playing on a different system. Rocket League, meanwhile, is set to use the RocketID system when it debuts later this year.
Chances are Apex Legends will operate in a similar way, having you log into an Origin account to see friends playing on other systems, then send an invite and go from there.
When cross platform support does arrive, don’t assume you’ll be paired against teams with a mouse and keyboard if you’re using a console. Using Fortnite as another example, it always keeps you matched against others on the same platform until you play with a cross platform squad – pitting you against cross platform teams also – keeping things fair for those who don’t plan to use cross platform play at all.
In the meantime – if you want to focus on what’s in the game right now, our Apex Legends character classes can give you an overview of the various abilities at your disposal.
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