Apex Legends for iPhone and iPad expands its reach ahead of full rollout

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Apex Legends Mobile for iPhone and iPad
There's still no release date for a proper launch.
Photo: EA

Apex Legends Mobile, the smartphone and tablet version of the popular battle royale game, expands its reach to 10 new countries next week ahead of an official global rollout.

The game has been in testing since EA and Respawn launched a closed beta almost a year ago. It still doesn’t have a release date, but Respawn says it will share more details “coming out of the limited regional launch.”

Apex Legends Mobile a small step closer to launch

Apex Legends, which first landed on consoles and PC in February 2019, is EA’s answer to Fortnite. Like other titles in the popular battle royale genre, it sees large groups of players battling it out to be the last one standing.

The game launched to rave reviews from players and video game critics, and has since become one of the most played titles of all time, with approximately 100 million players as of last April. And that’s without a mobile version.

EA first confirmed Apex was on its way to smartphones and tablets in May 2019. It reassured fans in January 2020 that the game was still in development. Two years on, it’s not quite here yet, but it is getting closer.

Respawn this week announced that Apex Legends Mobile will expand its reach to 10 countries — Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia — next week.

Fans must sign up for access

The launch remains limited, so players will have to sign up for access — which Respawn said they can do through the App Store and Google Play — when Apex lands next week. You’ll need an iPhone 6s or later to take part.

Sadly, unlike Fortnite, the mobile version of Apex won’t be identical to its console and PC counterparts. It is “being built specifically for mobile,” Respawn said, and therefore won’t offer cross-play with other platforms.

It’s not yet clear if the game will support controllers or if it will use touch controls exclusively like PUBG Mobile — another popular battle royale game. We should find out more next week. What about a wider release?

“We’ll be sharing updates on global launch once we’ve made informed decisions coming out of the limited regional launch,” Respawn said. So, we’re no closer to a proper launch date — but at least there is progress.

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