Apex Legends, one of the most-played battle royale games in the world, is now two years old. Despite having proven its longevity, however,Apex Legendsis still missing some surprising features. Take for example private matches, a feature typical in popular online multiplayer games through the decades. This is one feature that Respawn Entertainment has decidedApex Legendshas been too long without, though. Apex Legends players can look forward to the addition of private matches soon.
The confirmation comes fromRespawn Game Director Chad Grenierin an interview with BrownGirlGamerCode. Grenier starts by describing how private matches are already implemented forApex Legendsbehind the scenes, a tool Respawn can use for tournaments and events. He goes on to say that Respawn is currently working on enabling private matches for the public, too. Grenier doesn’t have a timeline at the moment, but says the team is working to get it available “as quickly as possible.”
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Grenier provides some context regarding why the feature is currently available behind the scenes but can’t just be turned on for public use. Specifically, that thenewApex Legendsfeatureis currently built for small-scale use. In order for it to work on a worldwide level, Grenier says that Respawn still has work to do. It could just be a matter of ensuring adequate server power is available to support the feature, or it could be messier.
Some additional context into how private matches work was also provided by Grenier. He says that the feature as it currently exists is robustly designed. It not only allows players to group up in private matches across platforms, but also hascross-playfor private lobbies. As such, an event organizer can host a match from their PC while inviting players on PlayStation or Xbox. Closed platform systems for private matches is rather contrary to the goal of the feature in the first place, after all.
The need forprivate lobbiesand matches should be self-evident. The most obvious use of them is for tournaments and events where organizers want to limit access to a match to a very strict list of players. But it also scales down to situations where players may just want to play with a small group of friends or to use a private lobby to get in some specific practice.
Obviously, private lobbies and matches aren’t required to create a successful game.Apex Legends, as well as othermodern live service games, have proven that. Yet withApex Legendsremaining successful for two years now, there’s no reason for Respawn not to continue rolling out features the community wants if it’s able. For private lobbies, that just means waiting a little while longer.
Apex Legendsis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with iOS and Android support in development.
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