Titanfall Battle Royale spin Apex Legends launches across console, computer

Apex Legends is the latest Battle Royale contender, aiming for a sweet spot between Fortnite, PUBG and Overwatch. — AFP Relaxnews

A free-to-play spin-off of the well-received Titanfall series, Apex Legends, has made its surprise debut across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

With one million players inside eight hours of launch and top of the Twitch TV charts within 12, Titanfall Battle Royale spin-off Apex Legends is off to a good start.

That success appears to be the result of a solid pivot for existing game Titanfall 2 to Apex Legends, and a boost from established streamers, influencers, and specialist press for the otherwise unannounced title.

Sticking to the Battle Royale genre's broad last-person-standing ethos, Apex Legends introduces a number of unique twists to the formula.

With a ceiling of 60 players rather than 100, Apex Legends sorts participants into squads of 3 (solo, pairs, and other variations may be added in future).

It leaves out the name, the mechanised walking tanks, the wall-running and the double-jumps from Titanfall, but a grappling hook tool stays in.

Teamwork is facilitated by the use of an on-screen indicator system – squadmates can highlight locations, enemies, and valuable equipment drops for each other – while a revival system is imported from traditional first person shooters.

Pushing the squad aspect further are character abilities that work best when overlapped with other squadmates' unique powers.

That mixture of socially co-operative dynamics and a hard sci-fi aesthetic could help Apex Legends stake out space between Fortnite and PUBG, while some of the individual character trailers suggest it has been taking notes from hero shooter Overwatch.

Meanwhile, its Feb 4 release timing takes advantage of a relative lull in the video game calendar.

Mid-February is still a week away, when fellow action games Crackdown 3, Far Cry New Dawn and Metro Exodus all launch within a few days of each other.

At the same time, the Battle Royale genre is in a relatively quiet period: the enormously popular Fortnite, is halfway through a seventh season, while preceding genre figurehead PUBG launched its own second season back in December.

Battlefield V, another game which prioritises squad play, isn't due to add a Battle Royale mode until March 2019 at the earliest.

By adapting an existing game to the Battle Royale formula, Apex Legends joins not only 2017's smash hit Fortnite but also October 2018's Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 and the December Danger Zone update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The free download is supported by optional payments for cosmetic items and instant access to additional characters. – AFP Relaxnews