PvE mode could be coming to Apex Legends in Season 4
While Christmas is already behind us, Apex Legends community just might be in for another present early in 2020 as suggested by rumors, which surfaced this Sunday, suggesting Apex Legends could go PvE once the Season 4 launches, giving Apex Legends players one more reason to look forward to 2020.
Since its launch in February 2019, Apex Legends has been a strictly multiplayer game, which is nothing out of the usual for a battle royale game title, however, its fans have been fairly vocal in expressing their desire to see a dedicated player-versus-environment (PvE) mode, which would add some flair to their favorite game.
There is no going around the fact PvE modes are favoured across many game titles, with even the likes of Fortnite and Overwatch putting their own spin on the game type. Fortnite already features its own co-op third-person shooter survival game Fortnite: Save the World, while Blizzard is hard at work to launch Overwatch 2, which will basically be a PvE extension to their successful FPS title.
The premise of a PvE game is for a player to progress through campaigns, where he/she explores the world, fights AI-controlled enemies and learns the story about the game en route to the final fight, where we usually get introduced to the final antagonist of the story.
While it may seem PvE modes might not fit in with a battle royale game such as Apex Legends, we have to consider the Apex Legends has rich lore embedded deep in the Titanfall universe, which could make for a great experience in a PvE mode that would make connections between Apex Legends and the Titanfall.
The rumours of a possible Apex Legends PvE mode surfaced way back in September, during Season 2, where a reputable data miner "That1MiningGuy" took a deep dive into the game files where he found several objectives and missions, suggesting Apex Legends could be introduced to a PvE mode.
Adding to that, Respawn added some more subtle hints of their own by implementing new NPCs in the game, suggesting they are testing new models, which could find their way into a PvE mode. The biggest hint, however, was a community-discovered easter egg on the Apex Legends Firing Range earlier in December.
In the video released on Apex Legends' subreddit, we saw a player being attacked by NPCs, which was the first such occurrence in Apex Legends' history. Since NPC are the heart of all PvE games, the mentioned discovery suggests Respawn have already implemented a script to the game, which would allow for players to fight AI models, ultimately suggesting a PvE mode could be launched soon.
Video: https://bit.ly/39oZHHS
A similar discovery has already surfaced earlier in May, where a player posted a video showcasing "unused voice lines", which seem very fitting for an encounter with an NPC.
Video: https://bit.ly/2SAEZ1P
While there are many hints PvE mode could be coming to the Apex Legends, there were no official announcement from Respawn as of yet. If we combine all the evidence Apex Legends community have gathered so far, however, it is easy to be optimistic about a possible release of a PvE mode.
That at the end of the day would not come off as a shock to anyone, considering the community have before expressed their desire to see a PvE mode of their favourite game, leading us to believe Respawn have been listening to the demands and already started working towards making their community happy. That leaves us with the question:
When can we expect to see the heavily anticipated Apex Legends PvE mode?
Unfortunately, answering that is nearly impossible, considering that all we have to work with as of today are speculations and easter eggs. That being said, there is a strong belief among the Apex Legends community, PvE mode could be coming with the launch of Apex Legends Season 4, on February 4, 2020.
The launch date for season 4 would fall exactly one year after Apex Legends was released, which would make for a perfect date to surprise their fans with a PvE mode. Will our speculations prove to be true is at this point anyone's guess and we will never know for sure until February 4, when we just might see a beginning of a new era for Apex Legends.
