Respawn Entertainment has announced the Apex Legends x Gundam event for March 10, promising “big mechs” and “bigger fights” for a limited time.
Revealed on the Apex Legends X account, the new Apex Legends x Gundam crossover features character skins based on mechs such as Gundam Epyon, Wing Gundam Zero, Gundam Deathscythe Hell, Gundam Aerial, Freedom Gundam, and more.
The full press release provides more detail on what we can expect once Gundam arrives in Apex Legends next week. Broken Moon is said to become a “full Gundam battlefield” featuring destroyed suits, cliable statues, and ships flying overhead.
New Apex Legends weapons are confirmed for the crossover, too. The Buster Rifle will be available from Care Packages, and you will be able to use Bit Staves as shields when pushing through to points of interest.
There’s also a suite of Gundam abilities to look forward to in Apex Legends, including Epyon’s Lash, Heavyarms Salvo, Zero Sacrifice, and Zero Rebirth. These new Wild Cards are said to add a layer of lethality to encounters.
A new suite of Gundam cosmetics is also available for players during this limited-time event. While not yet formally announced, an alleged Apex Legends x Gundam leak claims that the eight revealed skins will cost 2,150 Apex Coins each, which works out to around $15 apiece.
Respawn remembers giant mechs in shooters
While the Apex Legends x Gundam event is exciting, it instantly reminds me of when Respawn led the charge into giant mech shooters. It’s hard not to see the anime robots duking it out and not think of the developer’s Titanfall series, which had an exciting multiplayer and one of the greatest single-player campaigns of all time in its sequel.
We never got Titanfall 3. In fact, some people reading this may not even be aware that Apex Legends originally started as a spin-off of this franchise before it vastly eclipsed its source material. There’s a part of me that hopes the success of this crossover could prove to Respawn (and EA) that there’s viability in the big mech shooter sub-genre yet. If nothing else, could we see Titanfall reemerge, even for a limited time, in the future?
There’s been no shortage of solid Apex Legends crossovers over the years. Respawn’s battle royale has hosted successful events featuring Final Fantasy characters and even rapper-turned-country-star Post Malone in the past. It’s looking as though Gundam could be the largest of them all, though.
