What you need to know
- After a delay in 2020, Apex Legends is finally hitting the Switch on March 9.
- Season 8: Mayhem kicked off for Apex Legends today and includes a new character and weapon.
- To commemorate the occasion (and the delay between the Switch release and the start of the season), players will receive 30 Season 8 Battle Pass levels.
Respawn Entertainment kicked off Tuesday with not only an announcement for the start of Season 8, but also the release date for the long-awaited Switch version. The port is set to be released on March 9, according to a statement on EA's website.
The news was first posted by a Japanese gaming news site but was quickly confirmed by Venturebeat's Jeff Grubb.
The Switch version will have cross-platform play and "full feature parity" with other versions of the game. However, considering Season 8 starts on Feb. 2 and the Switch version isn't out until March 9, EA is giving Switch users 30 free Season 8 Battle Pass levels. They'll also earn double XP.
Panic Button, which brought Rocket League, Doom Eternal, and other games to the Switch, is overseeing development of the port.
During EA Play Live back in June, the company announced that Apex Legends was supposed to hit Switch in fall 2020. Along with that announcement, EA confirmed that the game will support crossplay between PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, it was delayed until 2021 due to "unexpected new challenges, to put it mildly" during 2020 and to improve the game's performance.
EA also revealed that it would be supporting more games on the Switch going forward, including Madden NFL 21, FIFA 21, and NHL 21. There is no word yet on when these games will be available for Switch players.
Season 8: Mayhem launched today, bringing Fuse, a new legend, to the game, a new weapon, and a big Kings Canyon map update. There are also a number of quality-of-life updates, including a damage counter and upgrades to the color blind settings. You can check out the full patch notes on EA's website.
For your battle royale adventures
Play any of Apex Legends' unique characters and a number of weapons in a battle royale where you and your team will have to reach the end. This Apex Legends-branded controller can certainly help more than the Joy-Cons can.
