Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment has released the first video in a new series called Inside the Studio today.
The almost five-minute video features a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Catalyst, Apex‘s most recently-released playable character. In between cutscenes pulled from the game and its trailers, members of the development team discussed the collaborative process required to bring a legend from concept to the live game. A handful of in-development gameplay was also shown, most of which revealed early versions of Catalyst’s ferrofluid-manipulating abilities on Broken Moon and elsewhere.
Respawn developers weren’t the only ones who commented on Catalyst in the video. Voice actor Meli Grant, who voices Catalyst, and GLAAD associate director of gaming Blair Durkee, who provided guidance to Respawn during the development process, also spoke about Catalyst’s journey from start to finish.
Durkee revealed that Respawn originally contacted GLAAD in February 2022 to ensure that its portrayal of a trans woman was respectful, honest, and accurate. Catalyst was not released in the live game until Nov. 1. The length of time between these two dates shows just how long it takes to concept, develop, and ship a new legend.
This episode of Inside the Studio was marked as 01, meaning there could be more videos like this coming in the future as Respawn continues to develop and expand Apex. For now, interested players and future game designers can get a glimpse of the company’s development process with the current episode.
Catalyst is live in Apex now.
