Respawn reveal why Apex Legends didn’t get a new gun in Season 5

Apex Legends will not be getting a new weapon in Season 5, Respawn devs have confirmed, after four consecutive seasons saw a new gun added to the battle royale’s huge loot pool since the title first launched in 2019.

Respawn has added a new weapon to their battle royale’s mega-arsenal every major update since launch, and players expected Season 5 to be no different. There were even leaks that seemed to confirm it would be Titanfall classic Volt SMG.

The devs have confirmed Season 5 will be “the first season Apex doesn’t get a new weapon,” however. Respawn addressed the new direction in their latest developer update, and revealed if Apex will ever see new weapons added again.

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“We stepped back and asked ourselves: does Apex need a new weapon every season? If we continue to add new weapons, the weapon pool will become saturated,” the devs explained in their May 12 post.

• Read more: Mirage rework finally released in Apex Legends Season 5

According to the masterminds behind Apex Legends, there is a “sweet spot” for any title that has huge weapon pools. In their eyes, their battle royale is currently hovering right above the “right” amount for players to pick and choose from.

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Respawn’s latest statement also damns hope some players still had in regards to comments made by Josh Medina in the lead-up to Season 5. 

The Apex producer revealed there would be “no new weapon to the season” this time. Fans latched onto his phrasing; theories sprung up one would arrive later ⁠— unfortunately, this looks to have been scuppered too.

Vaulting guns like Fortnite “not an option” in Apex Legends

There were a few options Apex could have taken, they admitted. Fortnite often removes their guns by “vaulting” them, and re-releases them in future patches. Respawn felt they couldn’t go down that route in their own title, however.

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“Vaulting weapons is not an option, because players have purchased skins,” they said. “We are forced to be more creative. We had some ideas on how to address it, but we need more time to test them, and make sure they are healthy.”

• Read more: All Apex Legends Season 5 weapons, Legends buffs & nerfs

Respawn confirmed new weapons will be added again, in the future. They added: “We want to make sure the weapons we add have real value to the gameplay. We have some fun stuff in the works. Our weapons team is hard at work.”

Season 5 may not have brought with it a brand-new toy, but there’s still plenty of changes in the battle royale’s gun pool. Headlining them is the Peacekeeper, which has rotated into care packages this season.

In its place, the Mastiff has been nerfed and sent into Kings Canyon as a regular loot pickup this season. The Longbow, Wingman, and Havoc were all nerfed, while the Alternator and the RE-45 got buffed. Read the full list of changes here.