Apex’s 12th season will feature Mad Maggie, Control mode, and more

On top of today’s new Stories from the Outlands, “Judgment,” which confirmed that Mad Maggie is indeed the newest legend heading to the Apex Games, Respawn delivered some confirmation on a few additions to the game coming in its 12th season, Defiance. Of primary interest, the game will get its first new limited-time mode in several seasons, a Control mode.

First things first: Mad Maggie is alive and is in Syndicate custody for doing a bunch of terrorist and terrorist-adjacent things, like blowing up Kings Canyon and causing general death and mayhem. Her execution doesn’t go as planned, however, as a shadowy Syndicate figure halts the proceedings to spare Maggie’s life in favor of making her a competitor in the Apex Games.

The SFTO didn’t give many hints as to what Maggie’s abilities might be as of yet, but the Apex website does have an image of Maggie wielding some sort of whip and a shield that will undoubtedly be part of the Salvonian’s kit. That or spitting bloody teeth into the eyes of her competitors is the type of ability she’s bringing to the table.

Defiance is clearly modeled after Maggie’s attitude and aesthetic. This season, however, the lore and action of the game appear to be heading for Olympus. The season’s splash page promises “something’s different about the floating city…but what?” Given what happened to Kings Canyon when Maggie was there, it seems like the pristine slopes of Olympus are in for some creative remodeling. Data miner Shrugtal even points out that we can get a glimpse of the new Olympus in promotional material featuring Maggie.

The new Control LTM will be music to Apex players’ ears since the community has decried the lack of a new LTM for some time. And the Control mode will certainly be a different one: Teams of nine will go head to head to control certain points on the map. Players will respawn infinitely when they’re killed and the match only ends, presumably, when one team hits a certain points threshold for controlling points. From the sounds of it, this might be the closest Apex has come yet to feeling like Titanfall.

Alongside a new battle pass, a new season of ranked play, and undoubtedly more changes and events coming to the game, Defiance has already made an explosive entrance. We’ll learn more about what Respawn and Mad Maggie have in store for players in season 12 when the Defiance launch trailer drops on Jan. 27.