Respawn has announced that Apex Legends will be coming to the Nintendo Switch; the last remaining platform which the game has yet to launch on. Moreso, the Switch edition of the game will feature the same cross-play which is coming to the other platforms.
Apex Legends Switch Release and Cross-Play
Respawn chose to announce the upcoming release in simple fashion, by posting an image of the game being played on the Nintendo Switch on social media. The official Twitch Prime account subsequently asked whether there would be cross-play, prompting the Apex account to confirm that there would be. This comes following the announcement that cross-play is coming to Apex Legends during today’s EA Play event.
Thus far, Respawn has only confirmed that the Nintendo Switch release will come sometime in Fall 2020. For now, Switch users will have to wait for more details. Given the timing, it’s possible that the Switch launch could align with that of Apex Legends Season 6, or possibly 7, if it comes later in the year. Certainly, Respawn is likely to align the launch with some in-game event, whenever it does come. After all, a new season launch is a good marketing opportunity for Respawn to attract extra attention to the game.
When Apex Legends does launch on the Switch, the game will be available on every major platform. Furthermore, the rolling out of cross-play will subsequently connect those platforms into a single ecosystem. It remains to be seen whether a Switch launch will greatly increase the Apex Legends audience. However, the launch of cross-play could very well do so. Cross-play is becoming a staple in major FPS and battle royale titles. Cross-play has, after all, already come to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Fortnite, and a few other similar titles. As more games do so, the trend towards cross-play becoming the norm is likely to progress.