Apex Legends dropped another piece of lore before the year is over. A voiced-over recording shows Crypto and Wattson’s attempt to mend their strained friendship following the events of The Broken Ghost.
The recording brings major character development for the two legends. Crypto realizes that to let Wattson in, he has to break down the barriers that he’s built over the years and tell her the truth about his identity—or at least as much of it as he can.
Crypto reluctantly shares that someone is watching him in the Apex Games. Wattson suggests going to the Syndicate for protection since they want him to compete. “The person after me is part of the Syndicate,” Crypto says.
The hacker told Wattson about how the Syndicate made Mila disappear and framed him for the crime and how he’s been in hiding since. “You know my father and I worked for the Syndicate, don’t you?” Wattson says. “You know that I owe so much to them.”
After Caustic framed Crypto as the mole during the events of The Broken Ghost, Wattson realized that Crypto knew so much about his fellow legends but that they didn’t know a thing about him. “I realized I don’t know anything about you,” Wattson says. “You didn’t want me to. You treated me like an enemy.”
“I don’t think Crypto would do something like that,” she continues. “So whoever you are, you’re more than just Crypto. I think I could trust you, now that I know someone in there trusts me.”
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The short ends on a high note with Crypto telling Wattson his real name—Tae Joon Park. This is significant character development for the hacker, who was being (rightfully) wary about his fellow competitors.
Players reported hearing new in-game interactions between Crypto and Wattson earlier in the season. The hacker asks Wattson to trust him and that he didn’t do it. “You say so, but, really… I don’t know you. How can I trust a stranger?” she responds. Another prompt causes Crypto to invite Wattson to a talk after the match, in reference to the upcoming conversation.
Crypto and Wattson’s budding relationship took a hit after Caustic framed the hacker as a mole during The Broken Ghost. Although Caustic later revealed himself as the snitch, the betrayal caused Wattson to stop talking to Crypto and in-game voice lines reflected her new demeanor toward the hacker. Other lore pieces also addressed the strained relationship between the two—including a letter from Gibraltar on Wattson’s desk.