It's been over two years since Apex Legends first launched almost out of nowhere and, in that time, its audience seems to have only become bigger and bigger. After being exclusive to EA's Origin platform for PC, it finally made the jump to Steam last year, a decision that has only benefitted the game and developer Respawn. The Steam version very recently set a new concurrent player record, highlighting the growth of its player-base and that player-base is likely to only grow even further once it launches on Nintendo Switch next week.
Apex Legends is also expected to launch on mobile devices, but, at the time of writing, EA and Respawn have not provided a release date. It was supposed to be out by the end of 2020 until EA announced that the mobile version would be delayed and indicated that it likely wouldn't release for a very long time. However, while nothing has been officially confirmed yet, the wait for the mobile version may not be as long as some fans may fear as it may be in the middle of being playtested.
Reddit user EXO_R3EECH believes they've spotted Apex Legends for mobile on EA's playtesting website. According to them, the playtest is available for anyone who has an EA account (which is needed for the game), but one user attempted this and learned that the playtest is limited to people living in the United States and Canada. What's more, EXO_R3EECH states that the test is catered towards Android users and device requirements are Google Pixel 3 or above and Samsung Galaxy S8 or above.
Considering testing has apparently already begun, it's possibly too late for any new players to join, but the fact that testing is being done at all could suggest that the mobile version is closer to release than initially believed. With the current test focusing on Android devices, though, what could happen is EA will release Apex Legends for Android first and iOS users will need to wait a bit longer for their version.
This is all speculation, but the release window given by EA did cover October 2021 to September 2022 so the game could very well release on mobile (or at least on Android) before the end of this year, assuming testing goes well and there are no major drawbacks or disasters. Hopefully, there will be more playtests throughout the year and preferably be more heavily advertised so more fans can attempt to sign up for them.
When it does eventually release for mobile, Apex Legends will have a slight edge over Fortnite. While that battle royale was available on mobile devices, the game was removed and effectively banned from both the Google Play and Apple stores, kicking off a months-long feud and lawsuit that is still going on.
Apex Legends is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It will release for Nintendo Switch on March 9th.
