Apex Legends is regarded as one of the best and most skillful battle royale games available. Over its more than 4-year existence, the game has introduced over 20 legends and a plethora of additional content. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean it’s flawless, and players have encountered various bugs, audio problems, and other issues over time. Consequently, with the release of Counter-Strike 2 earlier this year, based on the new Source 2 engine, players began to wonder if Apex Legends would receive a similar upgrade.
However, I recently had the opportunity to playtest Apex Legends Season 19 and took the opportunity to pose this very question to the developers. The short answer is NO. Apex Legends will not be receiving a Source 2 engine upgrade.
Now, you might be wondering why not? The reason is relatively straightforward. Although Apex Legends is indeed based on the Source engine, Respawn forked the Source engine a LONG time ago to meet their specific development requirements. This took place even before the original Titanfall game was released.
According to Evan Nikolich, Design Director at Respawn (Apex Legends), they have significantly “modified the engine over the years“. He mentioned in an email response to AzMo Tech that “the version of Source that was used for Portal 2 was not built with the intention to support a Battle Royale with large open spaces.“
When questioned about future plans and the possibility of a Source 2 engine upgrade for Apex Legends, Nikolich stated, “We have changed the engine technology in so many ways and will continue to grow the engine to serve the needs of Apex. At this time, there are no intentions to incorporate Source 2.”
This decision to stick with their heavily modified Source engine for Apex Legends isn’t new. Respawn’s tech director, Michael Kalas, previously mentioned in a tweet that their engine “will never be replaced in the Apex/Titanfall universe.”
It seems that the launch of Apex Legends 2, along with a Source 2 engine upgrade, is not on the horizon. However, this decision indicates that the Respawn development team is dedicated to improving their engine to introduce new features, such as Cross Progression, and address issues related to audio, latency, and more.
For the time being, players can dive into Season 19 of Apex Legends, where they can explore the new features, including Conduit, the shield healer, and map changes on Storm Point. There’s even a delightful surprise awaiting players in Wattson’s Town Takeover.
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