Apex lore is getting an ‘evolution’ with voiced-over stories and lobby collectibles

Apex Legends’ story has grown exponentially over the game’s five years, and Respawn Entertainment is ready to keep growing it. Players will get some lore straight in the lobby starting in season 20, paving the way for important steps in how the studio handles the game’s narrative.

Respawn has built upon Apex’s lore for years, from the inaugural quest in season five to the addition of the official lore hub in early 2023. “Starting this anniversary, we wanna make it easier to follow Apex‘s story,” narrative director Amanda Doiron said in a press conference last week, which includes sprinkling a bit more of it in the game.

While Apex has had its share of narratives as quests, Respawn also delivers lore through social media. This usually comes in the form of comics or narrated radio plays, and some of the game’s key story developments—including the confirmation of the relationship between Fuse and Bloodhound—happened outside of the game’s environment. Players may see a change in this dynamic with season 20, however.

“We’re gonna keep all main story beats discoverable in the game and not so hidden away on social media,” Doiron said. “Lore will definitely still be present on social media, but the content will be something you have to have seen in order to follow the longer-form story being told.”

Players can check out the new lobby starting in season 20, which will provide a “very, very simple summary of the story,” Doiron said. The lobby will also have a few interactable objects that will “open our newest evolution of Apex episodes,” fully drawn and with narration by the legends.

Legend voiceovers have been a common request from avid lore fans since season five introduced the game’s first quest, The Broken Ghost. The narrative came with playable PvE missions, but its out-of-game portion was entirely text-based. Apex has since flirted with multiple models—quest comics, short in-game chronicles, voiced-over social media radio plays, the Kill Code miniseries, and even a full-on lore book—and Respawn seems to be evolving the model once more.

Doiron didn’t spoil much of the story coming this season, but the Syndicate is using the in-universe anniversary celebrations to conceal the late Duardo Silva’s shenanigans in Kill Code (if “shenanigans” is the appropriate word for unleashing an army of immortal murder robots on the world).

Players can get a taste of the new stories once season 20, Breakout, reaches the servers on Feb. 13, bringing some of Apex’s most expansive reforms yet.