Respawn confirms Apex Legends crossplay won’t pair console and PC players

Apex Legends crossplay is going to keep PC players separate from their console rivals ⁠— for the most part ⁠— Respawn has confirmed, after fans expressed concerns mouse & keyboard fans would “dominate” once the new link-up feature is introduced.

In a TikTok video, Apex Legends software engineer Jake Smullin said the Respawn team had seen “lots of console players worry about [crossplay]”. The main worries were that PC based players would “dominate” lobbies with console-based fans.

There’s no reason to panic, Smullin explained; there’s “no chance” Apex Legends will match computer-based players up with console opponents. That is, he added, unless you have a PC player on your fireteam too after the crossplay update.

“I wanted to clear something up about crossplay. You will only be in PC crossplay lobbies if you have a PC player on your team,” Smullin wrote in his TikTok video, which was unearthed by DBLTAP on July 26.

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“Have been seeing lots of console players worrying… but don’t. Everyone should be excited! So, please, no more ‘not crossplay, PC is gonna dominate us’. Crossplay is going to be huge for Apex Legends.”

After more than a year of waiting, Apex Legends crossplay was finally announced during the 2020 EA Play event in June. Respawn didn’t pen in any specific launch date, however, simply confirming it was coming “this Fall.”

Crossplay has been one of the most-demanded features for the battle royale since it was released in early 2019. With more modern titles connecting the different gaming platforms together, it was only a matter of time.

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Apex rivals Fortnite and Warzone have boasted crossplay features for some time now, while Rocket League ⁠— which is set to go free-to-play later this year ⁠— and Destiny 2 also recently made the crossplay switch.

Don’t forget, crossplay isn’t the only thing Respawn has planned for Apex Legends this year either. The character-based battle royale will finally make its long-awaited debut on Valve’s Steam game browser. Apex’s platform move will happen in Fall.

The cross-platform feature will also be vital for Apex as the next generation of consoles land these holidays. The title’s player base is expected to partially fragment again when the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are released in December.

Apex’s planned release on the Nintendo Switch ⁠— currently penciled in for mid-October — will only compound any potential problems too. Basically, Respawn’s decision to hit that crossplay button has come at the perfect time.