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Tag: Apex Legends

  • Celebrate the Season with EA Play’s Holiday Picks – Xbox Wire

    From Dec 15-24, we’re shining the spotlight on titles in The Play List and trials — with unique benefits and challenges. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members receive EA Play with their subscription, so make sure to check out all your rewards starting today.

    EA Play’s Holiday Picks

    Sports games dominate days 1 to 4, with EA Sports UFC 5 ringing the starting bell. Set up your favorite matches from 2025 to relive iconic wins or change their outcomes.

    Then switch gears for day 2, and play up to 10 hours of EA Sports College Football 26. Plus, grab this month’s reward, the EA Play Loyalist Ultimate Team Pack (now through December 31), if you haven’t claimed it yet. Replay one of last year’s memorable bowl matchups, and see if you can flip the results.

    On day 3, we’re highlighting EA Sports FC 26 with a 10-hour trial and Holiday Header Blue Boots (now through December 25). Show off your festive flair in Clubs, and recreate iconic matches between the league’s biggest rivals.

    Then it’s off to gridiron greatness in Madden NFL 26. Try it out for up to 10 hours and pick up a MUT EA Play December Pack (now through December 31). Test your skills by playing your favorite NFL team’s latest matchup, or take them on a historic postseason run ahead of the upcoming NFL playoffs.

    Step out of the sports arena on day 5 with 2 Star Wars titles available on The Play List. Play as iconic characters from the movies in Star Wars Battlefront II. A fan of the Light or Dark side? Try fighting for the opposite side! Or launch Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to take on a single-player narrative where you wield the Force as Cal Kestis.

    Next up on day 6 is Battlefield 6, the new standard for FPS combat. Save 10% on the Standard or Phantom Edition as a member, and receive an EA Play Deployment Pack and Season 1 Pack (now through January 19). Can you harness Tactical Destruction and destroy 10 structures in one match?

    Next up on day 7, celebrate the end of the racing season with a 5-hour trial and 5,000 XP Boost (now through December 31) in EA Sports F1 25. Up for a challenge? Break the fastest lap record on your favorite track.

    The holidays aren’t complete without a little bling, so log in to Apex Legends on day 8 to redeem a Gold Topper Weapon Charm (now through January 5). Update your loadout today.

    On day 9, pay a visit to your Sims in The Sims 4 — did we mention it’s free to play? — and add to their adventures with packs (10% off for members). Design a year-end retreat, city loft or creative build that captures your favorite vibe.

    All roads lead to play on day 10. Get 10% off San Van Bucks, and use them to unlock the Premium skate.Pass, cosmetics, and more. Skate in style, and drop in to San Vansterdam now.

    To learn more about EA Play, check out X and Instagram, or visit here. For more details on all the EA Play member benefits this month, visit the EA Play Member Benefits site. Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See EA Play Terms for details.

    Members can experience the world of EA with unlimited access to a collection of top titles, trials of select new games, in-game member rewards, 10% on EA digital purchases and more.

    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Hackers gave pro players cheats during EA’s North American Finals of Apex Legends

    Hackers gave pro players cheats during EA’s North American Finals of Apex Legends

    Respawn, the EA-owned studio behind Apex Legends has postponed the North American Finals tournament after hackers broke into matches and equipped players with cheats. The developer posted to X, formerly Twitter, that the delay has been caused due to the “competitive integrity of the series being compromised.” Footage of the hacks, available available on Twitch, gave players the ability to see their opponent’s location while notable player ImperialHal was handed an aimbot which artificially improves their aim while playing.

    Cheating has been a continual issue for EA — and one that players claim the company is doing little to mitigate. Frustrated posts on EA’s general discussion page include statements like “If EA gonna ban all the cheaters it wouldn’t be enough players to play the game,” and “The real issue lies in the process of banning/suspending players.” Other grievances include a focus on profits over experience, such as bumping up the price of skins.

    Furthermore, EA laid off five percent of its workforce — about 650 people — at the end of February. Respawn’s in-progress Star Wars first-person shooter game was canceled alongside the terminations. At the time CEO Andrew Wilson told employees that EA was “streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere.”

    A new time for the North American Finals of Apex Legends hasn’t been announced, but the X post stated that it would “share more information soon.” In the meantime, EA and Respawn have to determine how to block the hacker’s current access and how to reopen qualifications without risking further hacks.

    Sarah Fielding

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  • Please Stop Talking About Titanfall 3, It Hurts Too Much

    Please Stop Talking About Titanfall 3, It Hurts Too Much

    In 2014 Respawn released Titanfall, a game that combined two of the best things in video games: wall-running and giant mechs. It was great, but also multiplayer-only, so in 2016 they released a sequel, which kept the wall-running and giant mechs but also added another of the best things in video games: a cool and fun singleplayer campaign.

    Oshi No Ko Is An Early Anime Of The Year Contender

    Both were excellent games. The second, especially, is remembered as having one of the most unique first-person storylines (and level gimmicks) in modern shooter history. You’d think, then, that a third Titanfall game would have been a no-brainer, but life hasn’t quite panned out like that.

    Respawn went on to develop Apex Legends, a game set in the Titanfall universe only—crucially—without the Titans, and which has been printing money for years. They’ve also made the new Star Wars Jedi games, which have been a successful return to form for a franchise long stuck in licensed adaptation hell.

    They’ve been very busy with those, and given their success likely will be for the foreseeable future. You also need to know that, as critically successful as Titanfall 2 was, the game—released alongside a bunch of other blockbuster shooters, including EA’s own Battlefield 1—was seen by publisher Electronic Arts as an enormous commercial failure.

    So the likelihood that we ever get a Titanfall 3, especially a Titanfall 3 in the same vein as Titanfall 2, are slim! Actually that’s being generous. The likelihood that Respawn, as busy as they are, will make a Titanfall 3 with backing from EA, a publisher who will throw an under-performing franchise in the trash without a second’s hesitation, is pretty much zero.

    Yet that doesn’t stop fans from hoping. Those fans—and I am one of them—have been through the ringer in recent years, teased then shot down, given glimmers only for them to be snatched away. Most hilariously, sometimes it’s even the other way around, like the time I made peace with there never being a new Titanfall before Respawn walked back a seemingly definitive statement with another damn tease.

    This week, we’re back in said ringer. Speaking with Barron’s (thanks, PC Gamer), mostly about their new Star Wars game, Respawn boss Vince Zampella was asked about the possibility of there ever being a Titanfall 3, to which he replied

    I hate to say yes, then people latch onto that, and then skewer you when it doesn’t come.

    But I would love to see it happen is the real answer.

    My man, you are one of the handful of people on the planet with the power to make this happen! You don’t need to pine about it in a interview, go call some meetings!

    I kid, of course, there are a multitude of planning, resource-related and financial reasons we haven’t seen a Titanfall 3, but refreshingly—and in the only piece of good news to be had here today—that’s partly down to the fact that were such a thing to ever happen, Respawn want to do right by the game, rather than just drop Titanfall Tour on iOS or something.

    “It has to be the right thing”, Zampella says. “It’s such a beloved franchise for the fans and also for us. If it is not the right moment in time, the right idea, then it just doesn’t make sense.”

    Maybe that time will be soon. Maybe it’ll be never! All I know is that until we reach that right moment in time”, every time I have to type “Titanfall 3″ and not follow it up with “Announced” is going to kill me.

    Luke Plunkett

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  • RIP: All The Battle Royales That Failed, Flopped, Or Died After Fortnite And PUBG Blew Up

    RIP: All The Battle Royales That Failed, Flopped, Or Died After Fortnite And PUBG Blew Up

    Image: Epic / Square Enix / Boss Key / Kotaku / LadadikArt (Shutterstock)

    It’s almost poetic that, in a genre built on many people fighting to stay alive until just a few remain, so many battle royale games have launched, flopped, and died over the last few years. Not every new battle royale can find the same success as Warzone or PUBG. In fact, most will be lucky to survive at all. And many haven’t, as this list shows.

    While fan-made mods have added battle royale-like modes to games like Arma, the genre truly exploded with the release of Player Unknown’s Battleground and, shortly after, Fortnite’s take on the genre. These games exploded in popularity, with Fortnite alone jumping from 20 million users in 2017 to 125 million in 2018. Publishers took notice, and more studios began spitting out battle royales to cash in on the trend. And it makes sense. These games aren’t too tricky to make if you already have a shooter engine or existing IP that works within the genre and a talented team of devs. However, they need constant upkeep, fresh content, and a large player base to live. And that’s not easy to achieve.

    So, as we wrap up our fantastic week focused on battle royale games, it seems like the perfect time to stop and acknowledge all the games that tried to survive and thrive, but in the end, for various reasons, didn’t make it. They all got sniped from afar and were left in a ditch, surrounded by digital corpses of other failed attempts to be the next Apex Legends or Fortnite.

    Zack Zwiezen

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  • 10 Must-See Battle Royale Moments, From Fortnite To Warzone

    10 Must-See Battle Royale Moments, From Fortnite To Warzone

    Image: Respawn / Kotaku

    No two battle royale matches are alike. Clever, spontaneous tactics springing from the generative collision of varying skill levels, map layout, and randomized items, weapons, and vehicles can lead to theatrical levels of epicness and hilarity—often both at the same time. So it’s only fitting during Kotaku’s week of Battle Royale that we celebrate some standout moments across the many games that have challenged our wits, accuracy, and luck, surprising us with moments no one saw coming.

    It would be impossible to catalog every possible epic-tier moment, be it in Warzone, Fortnite, PUBG, or Apex Legends, so these are barely even the tip of the iceberg. But they are nonetheless some excellent examples of literal pro-gamer moves, crushing failures, and thrilling moments of victory. One of them is from one of Kotaku’s very own (but it ain’t me. I suck at these damn games).

    Claire Jackson

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  • Upcoming Games, Updates, and Events | This Week on Xbox

    Upcoming Games, Updates, and Events | This Week on Xbox

    Related:
    This Week on Xbox: Great Xbox Moments From 2022
    This Week on Xbox: Exploring Your New Xbox Series S and Game Updates
    This Week on Xbox: Winter Events, Exciting Upcoming Titles, and Updates

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  • Massive Madden 23 Patch Tries Addressing Backlash, Still Leaves Fans Fuming

    Massive Madden 23 Patch Tries Addressing Backlash, Still Leaves Fans Fuming

    John Madden celebrates on the box art for Madden 23.

    Image: EA

    EA’s “most polished” Madden in years continues to walk a rough road. Madden 23 received its massive October title update on Thursday, and with it a lot of welcome tweaks to underlying gameplay. But despite a bevy of bug fixes, many fans still feel like EA isn’t been honest about the current underwhelming state of the game and what they see as the prioritization of microtransaction gambling over making sure regular modes are glitch-free.

    “Today may have saved Madden 23,” Madden YouTuber Zirktober tweeted yesterday shortly after the October patch notes were published online. By the end of the day, players had discovered a major bug. Upgrading any of the game’s “Most Feared Monsters” players would automatically lock players out of Madden Ultimate Team, the game’s highly monetized competitive online mode.

    “Do not upgrade any Most Feared Monster Maker players as it can lock your account out of Ultimate Team,” EA announced that evening. “We are currently working on fixing this issue and unlocking any players impacted.” A few hours later the bug was fixed and players could use the upgrades again without fear of being locked out, though EA still seemed unclear on the precise source of the issue. “We have disabled chemistry options on Monster Makers for the time being as we are investigating an issue,” it tweeted.

    While the interruption ultimately ended up being just momentary, it was still a perfect encapsulation of the rollercoaster ride fans have been on since Madden 23 launched back in August. Initial reviews were mostly positive, followed by a harsher assessment by some players, including a few NFL pros. Content creators rallied around a brief “pack strike” to protest the high price and piss-poor odds of getting great players out of Madden Ultimate Team’s card packs. By the beginning of October, some wondered if Madden 23 could still be saved, or if it might end up being remembered as one of the worst iterations of the annualized money maker in several years.

    First, the good news. Madden 23’s October Title update does address some core complaints in recent weeks. A recalibrated slider seems to be addressing the maddening number of super-human interceptions players were previously witnessing. A disconnect issue leading to lots of lost progress in Franchise mode was also seemingly fixed. CPU teams should no longer randomly end negotiations with players. Some players got new face scans. And there were plenty of teaks to blocking, catching, and other core gameplay mechanics.

    “While not every issue has been resolved today, more fixes are coming with future updates as we continue to actively work to bring you the best possible experience. We value and appreciate your feedback,” EA wrote. “Our team is consistently taking it into consideration and working on delivering updates all season long.”

    This Is Popular Stranger

    But the story with Madden is never as simple as one of total disaster or complete redemption. The title update also claimed to add the Jets’ new alternate black helmets, but several players have been getting glitched white versions instead. Franchise mode is also still a mixed bag. While some players report finally being able to progress in their seasons after previously hitting a wall of crashes and disconnects, others are still encountering the dreaded draft loop bug that sends them back to the beginning of a season whenever they finish a game.

    Another particular sore spot remains Madden 23’s field passes, a battle pass system similar to the one free-to-play game Apex Legends added just this year. Its three tiers—Season, Competitive, and Fear—have given players issues ever since launch. Even now, they don’t always track players’ stats correctly, meaning players don’t get rewarded for completing an objective when they should. As YouTuber This Is Popular Stranger points out, just getting a pass open can be a chore, with some players still getting flooded with error messages when they try to access it. And then there are the missing rewards.

    Some players weren’t getting rewards for House Rules matches, while others weren’t getting Trophy Packs for winning season-length Super Bowls. Coins, used to buy packs without spending real money, also went missing. EA acknowledged the issues at the end of last month, but players are still waiting to hear how it will be addressed. Meanwhile, Solo Battles, a main objective for collecting other rewards, were broken for a week, leaving many players to miss out. It’s a big problem for a game in which the only alternative is to shell out money on randomized card packs.

    “I wonder if EA just doesn’t realize what a HUGE issue broken rewards is,” Madden streamer Kmac tweeted earlier this week. “It’s been THREE WEEKS now and they’re just dropping new promos like nothing is wrong. There’s no incentive to play Madden. No one can afford the new cards dropping.”

    It’s the stinginess of the card packs—the backbone of Madden’s most popular online mode—paired with the lack of acknowledgement of ongoing bugs and lost rewards that’s continuing to foment discontent within the community.

    “A lot of people were like, ‘Is the Pack Strike over?’ ‘The content’s really good, it felt like things were better this morning’—it’s absolutely not [over],” Popular Stranger said during his recent title update video. “The bundles do look better but we ain’t buying them. I hope you guys aren’t as well.”

    A player who goes by iowaopoly on Twitter has been tracking pack and stat reroll odds since launch, and continues to believe they are some of the worst in years. That’s despite the card packs themselves historically making billions for EA. It was one of the few publishers to continue posting great profits this year while rivals like Ubisoft and Activision struggled, mostly on the back of microtransactions in series like Madden.

    “The main theme of Madden 23 is stuff just continues to come out broken and super expensive and it takes days or even weeks to get stuff fixed in some way so players can get rewards to get the items or even play the game so it counts for something on progress,” Twitch content creator Rob Lopez told Kotaku. In the meantime, Madden 23 just went on sale. It’s $20 off less than two months after release.

              

    Ethan Gach

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