Apex Legends Mobile coming to Android in limited regional betas

Damien Wilde | Apr 20 2021 - 2:39 am PT

After hints, teasers, and then confirmation from EA, the immensely popular free-to-play battle royale FPS Apex Legends Mobile is finally set to arrive on Android.

We’ve seen other big players such as Fortnite, PUBG, and Call of Duty all make a bow on the mobile platform, so it was always likely that EA would see the dollar signs and port over the popular title. However, it’s not all good news just yet, as Apex Legends Mobile is initially arriving on Android in a series of limited closed betas in selected regions.

Initially, Apex Legends Mobile will be available to a small group of players in the Philippines and India, before it rolls out more widely in other selected regions:

We’ll be steadily rolling out Apex Legends Mobile around the world in a series of tests. To start with, we’ll do a series of smaller closed beta tests in India and the Philippines.

We’re keeping things small to start—just a few thousand players in India and the Philippines—but over the course of this year we’re planning to roll the game out to more regions and more players around the world.

The Apex Legends launch on mobile looks like it will coincide with the next season of the battle royale — titled “Legacy.” There’s even a new legend joining the mix, which we hope will make the cut on mobile. Apex Legends on PC and console has undergone some serious changes since launching in 2019 to the point that the game sometimes feels almost unrecognizable.

Bringing Apex Legends to Android also means that workarounds such as with services like GeForce Now will soon be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, it looks as though Apex on mobile is being treated as a completely separate entity, so that means that crossplay is a notable absentee. The entire control scheme has been optimized for touchscreen play, but EA hasn’t confirmed if gamepad support will be included — something we’d hope will make the cut.

Apex Legends Mobile is specially designed for touchscreens, with streamlined controls and thoughtful optimizations that result in the most advanced battle royale combat available on a phone.

Essentially, Apex Legends Mobile on Android isn’t Apex as you know it, but EA says that it’s “true to the original.” For those wondering, it looks like a select set of Legends will begin dropping into World’s Edge from spring 2021. You can always get your Apex Legends fix on your smartphone by using GeForce Now or Steam Link.