Apex Legends players on Xbox Series X/S and Playstation 5 have been uncertain when the battle royale would receive the same next-gen upgrades that many other games have added since the release of the consoles.
Fortunately, on the night prior to the patch’s release, Respawn has announced the Warriors collection event will also add the first batch of next-gen updates to Apex Legends. That first batch focuses on improvements to the game’s visuals, while requested features like 120Hz gameplay remain set for an unknown future update.
This came as a surprise late addition to Tuesday’s patch, with Respawn giving all the details on what players can expect to find in Apex’s first native next-gen version. This includes the ability to run Apex Legends at native 4K with support for HDR, alongside improvements to the shadow maps and LOD (level of detail) distances to make the game look crisp for the players enjoying these higher resolutions.
The next-gen update also promises “full 60Hz gameplay,” implying players on those platforms will enjoy a rock-solid 60Hz experience before 120Hz is available.
Future updates to the next-gen version of Apex Legends, unfortunately, don’t have a set date, but Respawn has listed the features they expect to bring to the next-gen edition of the game over time. 120Hz gameplay is the major omission from the initial release but is at the top of the list for later additions. According to this list, players on the PlayStation 5 can also expect Apex Legends to receive haptic feedback and adaptive triggers support. General audio and visual improvements are at the bottom of the list, but details on what these would be aren’t included.
Apex Legends’ next-gen update will be available to all players on Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 when the Warriors event goes live on March 29. Xbox players will automatically receive the updated version in libraries, but PS5 players will need to follow several steps (listed by Respawn here) to get the next-gen version.
