Apex Legends dev explains why they don’t release more new Legends
Apex Legends players are thirsty for new content, be it new weapons, map changes or new characters. However, these Legends (or characters) take a long time to develop.
During an episode of EA Unplugged, where various producers come together to discuss gaming development, Drew McCoy shared why new Legends aren’t regularly added.
Since Apex Legends released all the way back in February 2019, only two Legends have been added to the game. Octane, the adrenaline junkie, was released as part of a Season 1 addition.
Wattson is the latest character to be added to Apex Legends…Wattson on the other hand, the second legend to be added, was introduced as recently as July 2. She was added to the game alongside the beginning of Apex Legends Season 2.
McCoy, the Executive Producer at Respawn Entertainment, the company that develops Apex Legends, shared the process behind making a new legend, disclosing how long it takes to make them.
“We have never made a character in under 18 months,” McCoy said. “It’s usually a year and a half to make a legend,” providing some perspective as to how much planning goes into each.
It means each are meticulously designed and can therefore not be added to the game on the drop of a dime. There is also more to just designing a new character – significant play testing, game balancing and recording actual lines is all part of the process.
Interestingly, McCoy also revealed that the first eight characters were made simultaneously. Given this information, Apex Legends characters were being designed all the way back in December 2017 – providing insight as to just how long the game was kept secret before its surprise release.
Alluding to the release of future Legends, McCoy added: “We have a bunch of characters all hitting different milestones every month.” This sounds like Respawn don’t have a set plan on which Legends are coming in subsequent seasons but at least tentatively confirms there will be more to come in the future.