Apex Legends has started dipping its toe into cultural crossovers with the Market collection finally launching in November 2021. Respawn are keen to push more collabs after the first success — but have one condition.
Crossovers between game titles have become commonplace in 2022 thanks to the booming growth of Fortnite. It’s not uncommon to see developers share their IP around, bringing old favorites to life in new universes.
Apex Legends has mostly strayed from the course.
Respawn has put on one crossover in the past with streetwear brand Market (formerly Chinatown Market), bringing some hype cosmetics into the game. It was pretty well received by players, and that’s got the developers thinking about what the future of Apex Legends crossovers holds.
“When we have our midseason events and things like that, we treat it as a costume party where we can kind of break away from the core fantasies that we’ve been developing for a Legend,” game director Steven Ferreira told The Washington Post.
“We like that freedom because it’s both a way to freshen things up for the players, but also for the team.
“I think there are opportunities for how we can do that in terms of crossovers with other universes in some way. So I think you’ll see some of that coming down the pipe, and you’ll see some things continue to expand in terms of our partnerships on that side.”
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However, despite interest in bringing more crossovers into the Apex Games, Respawn doesn’t want to do it at the cost of the game’s core story.
The developers don’t necessarily want to go ‘full Fortnite’ with major crossovers every week, instead keeping on exploring the Apex universe with the base characters as intended.
“One of the things that’s grown over the last three years has been the universe that we’ve created. And one of the things that probably surprised us that we’ve leaned into since the launch of the game has been how much players care about the universe and the stories we tell,” Ferreira explained.
“Finding more ways to expand on that is always going to be the primary concern.”
At least for Season 12, there’s no crossovers planned just yet. However, in content releases down the line, don’t be surprised if Respawn team up with other brands to get on the crossover train.
