Apex Legends devs explain why they’re skipping a new Legend in Season 16

Respawn Entertainment have confirmed that, for the first time in Apex Legends’ history, Season 16 will not bring a new Legend into the fray. Now, they’ve explained exactly why that is. 

Apex Legends players have grown accustomed to the addition of a new character with the inception of each season. Season 15 brought Catalyst, Season 14 brought Vantage, and so on. 

Season 16, as had been rumored via leaks, will skip the addition of a new legend. There’ll still be the typical buffs and nerfs to keep the meta evolving, but there won’t be an all-new character for players to get familiar with.

The deviation from the established formula may be frustrating for some players who were hoping for new gear or abilities to learn but, ahead of the new season’s launch, Respawn have explained their thinking. 

Apex Legends devs reveal why Season 16 has no new legend

They explained that Apex Legends’ player base has grown and improved with the game, meaning they want to place Season 16’s focus on evolving the meta and making the game playable for all players, rather than on new content. 

Game Director Steve Ferreira said: “This year we’re taking a hard look at how we can evolve the core gameplay experience to better match where players are today, as either a new player joining Apex for the first time, or as a seasoned Apex veteran.” 

On the same note, Design Director Evan Nikoloch said that the pause is aimed at everyone being able to ‘learn and master’ the new meta.

This will come in the form of changes to Legend classification and major balancing adjustments. Throwing a new Legend into the mix, he suggested, might be too much for players to learn and understand. 

Nikoloch did confirm that Season 17 will return to the formula in terms of introducing a new legend. 

In short, the focus of Respawn this season is to overhaul what players know about Apex Legends, even if it means keeping the character pool as it is in the short term.